


Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure

by Wendy_Parker



Series: Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure [1]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Aladdin (Disney Movies) References, Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Character Interpretation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Worldbuilding, Amnesia, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Diasomnia (Twisted-Wonderland), Dire Crowley is Acting as a Parental Figure, Dire Crowley is Not Useless, Dire Crowley is a Dad, Forgiveness, Found Family, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Harry Potter References, Heartslabyul (Twisted-Wonderland), Hercules (1997) References, Hypnotism, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wrote this instead of studying, Ignihyde (Twisted-Wonderland), Implied/Referenced Bullying, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Let Them Rest Dammit!, Lion King (1994) References, Loss of Limbs, MC is Not Isekai'd, MC is an OC, MC is from Twisted-Wonderland, Night Raven College (Twisted-Wonderland), Not Beta Read, Octavinelle (Twisted-Wonderland), One-Sided Attraction, Original Fan Schools (Twisted-Wonderland), Pomefiore (Twisted-Wonderland), Puella Magi Madoka Magica References, Royal Sword Academy (Twisted-Wonderland), Savanaclaw (Twisted-Wonderland), Scarabia (Twisted-Wonderland), Sleeping Beauty (1959) References, Slow Build, Snow White Elements, Spoilers to Main Story, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Little Mermaid (1989) References, implied/referenced reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 129
Words: 280,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23666923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wendy_Parker/pseuds/Wendy_Parker
Summary: Jonah Argentum is confused.He doesn't know how he ended up in a prestigious magic college despite not having any magic. He doesn't know why he couldn't remember anything from his past before the magic mirror. He doesn't know why there are so many things he couldn't understand.But he wants to know... He wants to understand...Is this really the place where he belongs?(Twisted-Wonderland © Disney, Aniplex)Story Arc:Arc 7: The Tactician of the Scorching Sands
Relationships: Ace Trappola & Original Character(s), Azul Ashengrotto & Floyd Leech & Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto & Idia Shroud & Ortho Shroud & Original Character(s), Azul Ashengrotto & Original Character(s), Cater Diamond & Original Character(s), Deuce Spade & Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade & Original Character(s), Dire Crowley & Lilia Vanrouge, Dire Crowley & Original Character(s), Dire Crowley & Vil Schoenheit, Epel Felmier & Jack Howl & Deuce Spade & Ace Trappola & Original Character(s), Epel Felmier & Original Character(s), Epel Felmier & Vil Schoenheit, Floyd Leech & Jade Leech, Floyd Leech & Original Character(s), Grim & Deuce Spade & Ace Trappola & Original Character(s), Grim (Twisted-Wonderland) & Original Character(s), Idia Shroud & Original Character(s), Idia Shroud & Ortho Shroud, Jack Howl & Leona Kingscholar, Jack Howl & Original Character(s), Jack Howl & Vil Schoenheit, Jade Leech & Original Character(s), Jamil Viper & Original Character(s), Kalim Al-Asim & Jamil Viper, Kalim Al-Asim & Original Character(s), Leona Kingscholar & Original Character(s), Lilia Vanrouge & Original Characters(s), Malleus Draconia & Lilia Vanrouge, Malleus Draconia & Original Character(s), Original Character(s) & Everyone, Ortho Shroud & Original Character(s), Riddle Rosehearts & Ace Trappola, Riddle Rosehearts & Deuce Spade, Riddle Rosehearts & Original Character(s), Ruggie Bucchi & Jack Howl, Ruggie Bucchi & Leona Kingscholar, Trey Clover & Cater Diamond, Trey Clover & Original Character(s), Trey Clover & Riddle Rosehearts, Vil Schoenheit & Original Character(s)
Series: Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902805
Comments: 1776
Kudos: 1250





	1. The Flickering Darkness! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, people from a certain future!  
> If you're reading this fic, I assumed you know what "Disney: Twisted-Wonderland" is. Before we start, I need to say a few things:
> 
> This book (the AO3 version) was first written on 15th April 2020, during a time called "COVID-19 Quarantine". This was the time when Twisted Wonderland was in its early contents, back when we only just reached Octavinelle Arc. I've experienced the surprise of the first time seeing Octavinelle's Overblot Form, getting shocked from the Scarabia Arc's Twist, hyping over some limited time events (like Happy Beans Day, Fairy Gala, and Ghost Marriage) and constructing crazy theories.
> 
> Well, since this fandom is still growing and I want more content, I decided to write a fan-fiction (since it's the only thing I can do). Unfortunately, the information I've gotten back then was too little, so improvisation and modification must be made. Some things in this book might be different from canon, maybe even go against it. This book is borderline Canon Complaint / Canon-Divergence with Alternate Character Interpretation. For the Main Story, this book will be covering Prologue, Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, and Scarabia Arc. In addition, I will be adapting the Fairy Gala and Happy Beans Day Event (and maybe possible future event)
> 
> This book will also feature some OCs. The main character here is my version of the MC/Player. I won't give his full-bio here because: (1) Some info is a bit spoiler-y for the OC backstory, and (2) As an experiment, I want to test how far I can make an interesting character without giving a bunch of info-dump to the reader. I'll try my best to make him interesting and have his own background story.
> 
> If you don't like these things, you are free to close this book.  
> If you're still here, I would like to say thank you for giving this book a chance. I won't hold you back anymore.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When everything around you is dark, it's always nice to have something comforting to hold on.

He had this strange sensation of floating. As if something suspended him above the ground. _Was there even any ground here? Did he even open his eyes?_ It was dark. It was cold. And he was… _Scared._ But he didn’t get it. _What was he supposed to be scared of?_

**_Ah..._ **

**_My dear beloved…_ **

_Who said that?_

All of a sudden, he felt his back pressed against a cold smooth surface. _When did that appear? When did he stop floating?_ He turned his head to the side, but he couldn’t see anything past the dark. He tried to get up, his movements were sluggish as if he was underwater. But eventually, he managed to get up.

**_A lovely and noble flower of evil…_ **

**_Truly, you are the most beautiful of them all…_ **

He took a clumsy step forward, trying to find the owner of the voice, and as he did so, a blinding light came up from below him. He had to shield his eyes from the dark fragments - _wait, no, they looked like... stars?_ \- that were flying away, revealing a purple brick floor and he was standing on top of a lime-green circular platform.

**_Mirror, mirror on the wall…_ **

**_Who is the cruelest of them all?_ **

He spun around but didn’t dare to step off the platform. _Where did that voice come from?_ Behind him, he could hear a burst of flame. When he turned around again, he saw a green flame dancing in the dark. Slowly, something started to appear around the flame. A golden circular border. He squinted his eyes. _Wait._ The flame looked like it glowing behind something. _A glass? A window? Maybe a mirror?_

**_Those who are guided by the dark mirror…_ **

**_As long as your heart desires…_ **

It felt as if he was standing right in front of the mirror. Through the green flame, which was slowly dissolving, a black-gloved hand appeared. He couldn’t see who the owner of the hand is but he was sure that this is the voice’s hand. _How was that possible?_ He had no idea.

**_Take the hand that appears in the mirror…_ **

It was a tempting offer. He could feel his heart beating faster. _What should he do?_ His eyes flickered around, trying to find any corner in this pitch-black abyss. But he couldn’t. It was as if the darkness is endless. He could get lost in it. He… _He didn’t want that._ He didn’t want to feel lost. He didn’t want to feel lonely.

The voice made that feeling of loneliness disappeared. The voice cut through the darkness, giving him something to hold on. And the voice sounded so alluring, comforting. It made him feel safe. It’s going to be okay afterward. All he needed to do is to take the hand…

**_Come, now… Show me your power…_ **

**_We only have a little bit of time left…_ **

Slowly, he lifted his hand, reaching toward the gloved hand. He never realized the surface of the mirror rippled like water when the gloved hand went through it, finally meeting with his smaller one. He never realized that the purple brick floor slowly dissolving into darkness, along with his lime-green platform. All his focus went to the hand as the voice echoed again.

**_No matter what, don’t let go of my hand…_ **

He wasn’t planning to. He gripped the hand tighter as, once again, he felt as if he was floating. Darkness had swallowed his platform, leaving his feet dangling. But he didn’t feel lost or scared like before. Instead, he felt sleepy. He tried to grip the hand even tighter as if it could make him stay awake. But no matter how hard he tried, darkness slowly clouded his vision as sleep welcomed him.

The last thing he could hear was the sound of a galloping horse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, this is way different from the game intro.  
> The actual intro is pretty cryptic, we don't actually know whose voice is that,. I thought it was Crowley at first, but after listening again, maybe it was Malleus' voice? Yeah, until we have confirmation, it will remain anonymous in this fic.  
> Also, this chapter was slightly inspired by Kingdom Hearts' Dive to the Heart.


	2. The Stranger’s Awakening! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young boy was woken up by a devil-raccoon and he found out he was in a magic academy.

_*rattle* *rattle*_

A sound similar to the rattling of someone trying to open a locked box finally awoken him. When he opened his eyes again, everything was still dark, but he could feel something soft underneath him. He was lying on his back on a comfy surface. When he tried to raise his hand, he couldn’t get far because he felt a carpet-like ceiling above him. He tried again, stretching his hand to the side, only to find a similar cushion-carpet-like wall beside him. _Where is he now? Is he trapped? In a box maybe?_

“Darn it! People are coming soon! I have to get this uniform on fast!”

 _Who was that this time?_ It didn’t sound like the deep calm voice in the void. This sounded more high-pitch. The rattling continued and he tried his best to hit and kick the walls around him. He wanted to scream but it felt like the walls are closing toward him, making him couldn’t breathe.

“Grrr! This lid is so heavy!”

He tried to bang the lid – _wait_ , now that his consciousness had fully returned he realized that he wasn’t laying down, but he was standing up, and the lid was a door. With this new info, he tried to push the door in front of him. His voice only finally returns but only came out as grunting.

“If it comes to this… I have to use my secret move!”

 _Did the voice not hear all his banging?_ He pressed his hand on the door once again. But this time it felt weird. It was… _warmer than before?_

 _No._ Not only the door, but everything surrounding him felt warmer and stuffier. His banging and pushing continued. He didn’t want to be in here. _Let him out! Let him out!_

The door slowly creaked open. It was falling-

And he fell with it.

“Hieeeee!” He screamed when he fell with a loud _*bang!*_

“Ow…” he grunted, trying to lift himself despite the soreness.

“Whaaaa!” He looked up the owner of the high-pitched voice. It was some sort of strange creature. _A cat? Maybe a raccoon?_ It had grey fur with some white patches on his chest and pink jellybean paws. Blue flame spurted out from his ears. Its tail ended with a pointy fork, also it was wearing a white with black stripes bow.

“Why are you awake?!” it shouted. He groaned at the yelling. He finally managed to stand up, staring straight at the creature’s wide blue eyes

“What are you?” he asked out loud, dusting himself.

The creature let out an offended grunt. “Who are you calling a ‘what’?! I am the Great Grim!” The boy raised his eyebrow at the proclamation. _Was it even possible for a raccoon to be this arrogant?_

“Cih, whatever,” the raccoon clicked its tongue. Its mouth raised to form a smirk. “You human! Give me those uniforms!”

“What uni…” He stopped and looked at his outfit. He was wearing a really elegant black robe with a purple edge and golden trim. It was slightly too big for him, so the sleeves went past his wrist nearly covering his fingers while the bottom part completely covered his brown shoes. The hood of the robe was pulled over his head.

The only thing that came into his mind was: _why would the raccoon want the uniform?_ _It would be way too big for it._

“If not…” It raised its paws and all of a sudden blue flame ignited around them. “I’ll roast you!”

He pulled himself away from the flame with a scream, not wanting to get burn. “Are you trying to kill me?!”

The raccoon let out an evil chuckle. “If you don’t want to die, give me your robe!” The raccoon ran toward him at a fast speed. But, maybe in panic, he immediately ducked to the ground, letting the raccoon jumped into his box – actually, more like a coffin – face planted on the cushion-like surface.

“Oww…” The raccoon whined. Not really wanting to have more quarrels, he ran out the door, picking up his robe so he didn’t trip.

The raccoon managed to get its face no longer sticking to the coffin. “Oi!” it screamed, turning around, ready to fight the boy. But Grim was alone in the room filled with floating coffins. “Where are you?!” it shouted again, looking around the room. Grim didn’t want to open another coffin. Besides, the boy looks so puny. It would be easy to take his uniform by force.

Its eyes caught onto the opened door. With an evil laugh, it ran toward the door, following the scent of the puny human.

Not long after, a man walked into the coffin-filled room. “Oya?” His eyebrow raised when he saw one of the coffins was opened already with no person in it. _Looks like they have a runaway in their hand._

He was already out of breath when he reached another room. When he looked up, trying to figure out where he was, he realized he had entered a dark room filled with books, some were stuffed on the shelves, some were floating in the air.

“Where the heck am I?” he panted out. He was about to step forward when all of a sudden a circle of blue flame lit up around him. “Gah!”

“Heh heh heh…” He looked up and saw the raccoon slowly descended from the ceiling. _How did he manage to find him so fast?!_

“You think you could get away from me, you dumb human?” it mocked him and he could felt his blood boiling up. _This was getting ridiculous._

The raccoon floated toward him, paws bending-and-straightening as if trying to recreate grabby hand movements. He tried to step back but stopped when his robe nearly caught onto the blue flame. “Now, if you don’t want to turn into barbeque, hand me over the-”

_*Whoop-eesh!*_

“Fugya!” The raccoon suddenly fell to his feet. His body was tied up by a thick string. But where did it came from?

“Ow!” The raccoon floated up again, still tied with the string. “What the- What’s with this cord?” It tried to pull its paws out, but it seemed the string was way too strong.

“It is not a mere cord…” That was when he noticed that the string was connected to something. His eye followed the string until it ended in the hand of a man. “It’s the Whip of Love!”

The man himself was taller than him. His outfit somehow was way more elegant than his robe. The man had pale, nearly white, skin, and was wearing a bird-like mask over his golden eyes. His outfit consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt under a black vest with dark blue glitter, grey-black pants, and blue-black shoes. His coat hung over his shoulder, decorated with black feathers and the end was styled to mimic a bird wing. Also, he wore a top hat, decorated with a mirror and a black feather. He also had several mirrors on his belt. His black-gloved hands were holding a cane, but with was extended to be the whip.

“Ah, I’ve finally found you,” the man said when he finally reached up to him, standing in front of him. He had to crane his neck up so he could see him straight in the eyes. “You’re one of the new students, correct?”

He opened his mouth, but then closed it, trying to process when the man just said. The man sighed. “You shouldn’t do such things like that. It’s prohibited for a student to leave the Door on their own.”

He winched. “I’m sorry, Sir,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, in embarrassment.

“Not only that.” The man picked up the raccoon by its neck. “You brought an untamed familiar with you, which has broken several school rules.”

He wanted to protest but the raccoon beat him first. “I’m not his familiar! Let me go!”

The whip moved again, this time covering the raccoon’s mouth. “Yes, yes,” the man sighed. “That’s what all they say.” The man turned back to him and he could felt consciously straightened up his posture a bit.

“Honestly, it’s unheard of for a new student to go through the school by themselves,” the man said, the disappointed tone was heard. “How impatient are you?”

He ducked his head. “I’m sorry.”

The man shook his head. “Well, well, come along then.” He ushered the new student out of the book-filled room. He pulled the whip again, making the tied up raccoon to follow them like a dog on a leash. “The opening ceremony has started a long time ago. Let’s head back to the Mirror Chamber.” 

* * *

Crowley watched the new student looking around as they walk toward the courtyard as if trying to see everything his eye could take. It was kind of adorable. But that didn’t change the fact that he had broken so many rules.

The boy himself had a small posture, maybe even smaller than Prefect Rosehearts. His Ceremonial Robe was too big for him, causing him to nearly trip occasionally during their walk. The boy had wavy reddish-brown hair that passed his shoulder a bit, tied into a ponytail with a small ahoge on top, dark skin, and one black left eye, for the right one, was covered by a medical eye-patch.

“Mister,” the boy suddenly said after a long silence. “Where are we exactly?”

A curious young boy. _No_ _. 'Clueless' suits him more._ _But, for he is gracious, he shall provide answers to the confused boy._

Crowley cleared his throat before starting his explanation. “This is Night Raven College, a place where magicians with various unique talents come together from all over the world of Twisted Wonderland.” He tipped his top hat slightly and gave the boy a nod of greeting. “I am the principal of this academy, Dire Crowley.”

The boy blinked. He seemed in a kind of distress like he was trying to find something in his brain. After a few seconds of face scrunching, his black eye lit up. He then gave him a small nod. “My name is Jonah Argentum.”

 _Ah, yes. A name for a name._ Though Crowley wondered why it took him a long time to respond.

“So…” the boy, Argentum, spoke again. “Are you saying that I’m a magician?”

Crowley nodded, though slightly confused about the question. “Only those with exceptional talent in magic and who is chosen by the Dark Mirror can enroll in this school. And those chosen are called to the academy through the Door from all over the world!”

The face scrunching was back again. “I remember a sound of horses before I woke up in that coffin…” he muttered.

Crowley nodded. “Yes. The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome the new student chosen by the Dark Mirror, carrying the Doors to the academy. I believe it came to pick you up as well.”

Behind them, the familiar was still trying to get out from his Whip of Love, its scream of protests muffled. The boy frowned at the familiar. “I guess the raccoon’s fire burst opened the coffin’s door. I wasn’t able to open it before.”

“Ah, so, in the end, the culprit was the familiar.” Crowley let out a sigh. “Normally, students wake up after the door is opened with a special key…” He shook his head. “If you are the one who brought him here, then you have to take responsibility for him.”

The boy blinked in confusion again. “But, it’s- he’s not-”

They finally reached the door to the Mirror Chamber. “Now then,” Crowley said, with a hand on the new student’s back. “Let’s go to the Entrance Ceremony.”

With that, the doors were opened for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, this novelization will be based on each part. One chapter equal to one part. Which means, we're going to have 20 chapters of prologue before we even get to the main story. I don't mind though. It makes my job easier.  
> And, I changed a few things. Previously I wrote that the voice at the beginning of the game is Crowley, but after thinking and re-listening, it doesn't like Crowley at all. For now it was anonymous. 
> 
> Also, here's a link to Jonah's bio and appearance. I used picrew because I can't draw.  
> https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/post/617008828618358784/this-is-your-captains-order-twisted


	3. Break the Solemnity! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Entrance Ceremony about to come to a close, and the final student was ready to be sorted, Riddle could feel himself having a headache because of the chaos. He finally understands why they should never bring a cat to a ceremony.

“Now then, are the entrance ceremony and dorm sorting finished?” The Prefect of Heartsabyul, Riddle Rosehearts, said as he walked in front of his group of freshmen. There was quite a lot that was sorted into the dorm this year, including an annoying looking kid named Ace Trappola. "Listen up, new students,” he said with a hand on his hip, looking at the new student sternly. “In Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them and it’s off with your head; keep that in mind.”

Leona Kingscholar yawned loudly. “Finally, this stuffy ceremony is finally done.” He looked over his bunch. “Let’s get back to the dorm already. Savanaclaw, follow me.”

“All new students! I would like to congratulate you on your enrollment here!” Azul Ashengrotto was smiling too much for Riddle’s liking. Though, he managed to break the tension in his group. “I hope every one of you can live a fulfilling school life. As the Prefect of Octavinelle, I will support you to the best of my ability.”

“Nevermind that, where did the headmaster go?” asked the ever-so-beautiful Vil Schoenheit. “He hadn’t returned since the orientation before the ceremony…”

“He’s abandoning duties…” Idia Shroud’s voice rang through the floating blue tablet. Riddle sometimes wonder whether he was serious or not with his duty as a prefect.

“Did he get a stomachache or something?” Kalim Al-Asim asked out loud.

_*BANG!*_

“Not at all!”

Every head, including Riddle's, turned toward the headmaster who walked into the room gracefully. That was when he noticed someone else with him. A small boy, maybe slightly shorter than him, who was trying his best not to stumble from his robe. One of Crowley’s hands was on the boy’s back, guiding him to the platform in front of the Dark Mirror, meanwhile, the other one is holding his whip. And… _was that a cat tied in the end on the whip?_

“Honestly. We were one student short, so I left to go find them,” the headmaster explained. He then turned to the boy who was pulling his hood over his head, probably because feeling the pressure of everyone else still wearing their hood.

Maybe it was just Riddle's imagination, but he thought that Crowley's voice became softer when he was talking to the new student as if he was guiding a young child. “Now, you are the only one left who has yet to be sorted. I shall watch over the raccoon. All you need to do is to step onto the platform and let the Dark Mirror find where your suitable place.”

The cat/raccoon was fuming between the bindings, but Riddle was more focused on the new student. He saw him clenching and unclenching his hand under the sleeve of the robe, body slightly rocking back and forth as if he was hesitating. Riddle frowned. _What is he doing? He’s wasting their time._

Finally, after taking a deep breath, the boy stepped onto the platform. Once again, the Dark Mirror burst into green flame, revealing the Slave in the Magic Mirror, a floating green face with black decoration around its eyes, appeared once more from the green flame.

“Reveal thy name,” its voice echoed, silencing the Mirror Chamber once again. He saw the boy’s head jerked up in surprise. It took him another full minute before he finally answers with a voice soft and filled with confusion.

“Jonah. Jonah Argentum… Sir.”

“Jonah Argentum…” the Slave repeated. “The shape of thy soul…”

…

…

“I do not know.”

“What did you say?” The headmaster sounded surprised, and to be honest, so was Riddle. _How is this possible?_

“I sense a magic power lay in dormant in thee. However, I could not see the spark of color, or form. Therefore, thou art ineligible for any dormitory.”

The crowd erupted into murmurs. Riddle watched the new student, Jonah, looked around in confusion. He turned to the headmaster. “What does that mean?”

Ace whispered loudly to another newbie next to him. “Does that mean he’s nearly a non-magician?”

Riddle frowned. _This can't be right. There is absolutely no way the Ebony Carriage would bring someone who doesn't have magic._ _This just broke the code of the school. But the Slave did say that Jonah has power laying in there somewhere. But why in dormant, so deep that even the Dark Mirror couldn’t pick up on that?_

Even Crowley looked troubled. “There has never been a mistake selecting a student in the past 100 years. How in the world…?”

“Mmmghh…” With the headmaster distracted, the cat managed to wiggle himself out for the whip. “Pwah!” It gasped, probably relieved he was no longer being gagged. “In that case, hand over that seat over to me!” He immediately ran to Jonah, pushing him off the platform.

“Hey-” The boy wasn’t prepared for the sudden pushed. He missed his steps and his feet got tangled. He nearly falling down the platform, hood falling off his head. “H-Hiee!”

“Whoops!” Kalim was quick. He immediately ran toward Jonah, catching him before he could completely fell to the ground. “You’re good?”

Jonah nodded as he managed to stand up on his own again. “I’m fine.” His black eye glared at the cat. “Why would you do that?”

The cat looked so smug, crossing its paws in front of his chest, looking down at the new student as if he was a lowly peasant. “Unlike that human, I can use magic! I’ll show you right now just how exceptional I am!”

Riddle was the first one to notice the magic circle underneath the cat, giving out gases and lighting blue sparks. “Everyone, get down!” Everyone immediately responded, ducking to take cover. He could see Kalim pushing down Jonah, shielding him from the upcoming attack.

The cat inhaled, puffing up its chest and cheek with air. “Hnnngh, AHH!” It blew a blue flame from its mouth. It was uncontrollable, nearly hitting everyone.

Kalim was one of the unfortunate ones. “Aghh!!” He screamed as he tumbled down, rolling back and forth on the ground. “Hot, hot, hot! My ass is on fire!”

The cat looked even more prideful than before. “See? I am better than this puny human. So, let me into this school in his place!”

Jonah glared at the cat. “Hey, you could’ve killed somebody!” he shouted. “Why are you so desperate to enter the school?!”

But the cat just laughed at him, which sent Jonah fuming. “That’s it!” He ran toward the creature, but Grim was swift, floating out of the way, making Jonah stumbled in his track. But the boy didn’t give up, he began to chase the cat who kept dodging all his attempts to catch him.

“Get back here!” Jonah shouted.

The cat blew a raspberry at him. “Come on then! Try to catch me!”

The boy let out a frustrated scream as he chased the cat outside the Mirror Chamber, leaving the room in chaos. The first-years were panicking, the teachers were trying to put down the flame, and the other prefects were arguing. Riddle could’ve sworn someone from his dorm was laughing (probably that Ace kid). He saw Azul cast a water spell to help Kalim with the flame. The Scarabia Prefect breathed out a relieved sigh. “Thanks a bunch, Azul.” Azul only answered him with a smile.

“If this doesn’t stop, the school will be engulfed in flames!” shouted the principal. “Someone, please help Mister Argentum and catch that raccoon!

Leona let out a groan of annoyance. “How troublesome…”

Vil raised an eyebrow at the half-lion. “Oh, but isn’t hunting your specialty? Doesn’t it look like a perfect, round, and fat snack for you?”

Leona glared at the pretty boy. “Why me? You do it.”

“Professor Crowley, please leave this to me,” Azul volunteered. “I’m sure the others couldn’t stomach harassing the poor creature, so I will take it upon myself.”

“Typical Azul.” Riddle could've sworn he heard Idia rolled his eyes. “Always try to earn himself a point.”

To which Azul responded with a giggle. He then turned to him. “Care to help me, Riddle?”

Riddle let out a sigh. _He hates rule-breakers._ “Let’s finish this quickly.” 

“Get back here, you filthy raccoon!” Jonah screamed as he tried to jumped and catch the flying raccoon. But again, and again, the creature avoided him.

“Are you deaf?! I am not a raccoon!” he shouted between his constant laughing at the boy's pathetic job. “I, the Great Grim, will become the greatest magician in the world unlike you, useless human!”

_*whoosh-splash!*_

“Aghgh!?” A sudden water cannon shot toward Grim from behind Jonah, making both him and the raccoon, who avoided the sudden attack, stopped and turned around.

“Who shot that water?!” screamed Grim.

Two students, in a similar robe as him, ran toward them. One was small, but slightly taller than Jonah, with red, mid-length hair that curves inward, V-shaped bangs covering his forehead, side bangs, and two strands of hair forming a heart on top of his head. He had a stern look and silver eyes. “You’ve got some nerve breaking rules in front of me.”

The other one, the tallest between the three of them, had silvery blue, wavy hair that was styled longer on the left. His eyes were also the same silvery-blue color as his hair and he wore a pair of silver glasses. He had a beauty mark below his lip on the left side of his face. “Now, let’s capture him as quickly as we can. It’ll soon be morning if we idle around.”

Jonah glanced at Grim, whose face had become pale. It was three against one. _There is no way they can't catch that annoying raccoon now!_

“Gyaaah!!” Grim screamed as he took off again.

The three of them only exchange glanced before nodding at each other. They ran, chasing Grim down the hallway of the academy, with the other two students blasting their plant and water magic. It took them a while in this goose chase until they finally reached a dead end.

Grim stopped floating, patting the brick wall with its paws in panic. “Huh!? How?!”

The three students stopped just a few feet from the raccoon. “You didn’t notice we were having you swim around?” asked the silvernette with fake concern. “You poor, unfortunate little animal.”

The redhead took a step forward. “Give it up! Or else…”

“No!” Grim shouted, a shining blue circle, just like the one before he sent the Mirror Chamber in flame, appeared to bellow his feet. “I’m enrolling in this academy!"

The redhead gritted his teeth. “Azul, get back!” he shouted, running in front of the other two students as he held a pen with a red crystal at the top from his robe. The silvernette, Azul, nodded and pushed Jonah backward, hand holding a similar pen with violet crystal raised in front him, protecting the younger boy.

“Hnngh…..!” Grim took a deep breath, sucking as much as air as he could. The redhead stepped forward, a red glowing circle appeared beneath his feet. He pointed his pen forward, aiming at Grim and shouted boldly, “ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I made Jonah too pathetic in here. He's a confused boy, but not dumb I swear.  
> And maybe sometime I will skip a few dialogues so the story will flow better.  
> Also, just for fun, I tried the dorm-sorting thing and I got Heartslabyul! I'm in the Queen of Heart's court!


	4. Cruel Answer! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azul and Crowley found something interesting regarding to the new student.

Riddle stepped forward, a magic circle appeared beneath his shoes and the tip of his magical pen. His brows frowned, there was a dangerous glint in his grey eyes. He waved his magical pen, a red pixie-dust-like light appeared and followed the movement of the pen's crystal. He aimed his pen to the demon-raccoon, shouting his spell with a commanding aura “ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

The magic circle from his pen shot out toward the cat who was screaming in panic. The magic circle circled the cat’s neck, until with a spark of white light, a red-and-white collar appeared.

“Fuggyaaahh!” The cat yelled as it fell to his butt. The flame on its ears stopped lightening. It looked at its neck, tapping the collar. “What is this!?”

“Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #23: _One shall never bring a cat into a festival_ ,” Riddle said as he walked toward the cat whose blue eyes widened and pressed its back to the wall behind it. He stood towering over the trembling little guy. “As you are a cat, trespassing here is a serious rule violation.” He picked up cat by the collar, glaring at him and Azul could see its fur stood up. “We will have you leave immediately.”

“I- I’m not a cat!” The cat stuttered. It was swinging its paws, trying to hit Riddle on the face, but the redhead held it far enough to avoid the attacks.

The cat hissed at Riddle. “I’ll have this collar-” It raised its paws, expecting for the Heartslabyul Prefect to be burnt to crisp. But not a single spark appeared.

“Wh-what? My fire won’t work!” the cat cried, staring at its paws in disbelieve.

“What just happened?” the first year asked, looking up at Azul.

Azul offered him a smile. “It’s Riddle’s _unique magic_ ,” he said. When the first year tilted his head slightly to the side (which Azul found rather endearing), he continued, “His power can seal any other kind of magic away.”

The first year’s mouth formed an “Oh…” he nodded his head. Looking back at Riddle, who was having a banter with the cat, he let out a sigh. It was always a spectacular show, watching how other skilled magician unleashing their _unique magic_. _Riddle's magic is one of the kind and very useful. Dear... If only he can have it..._ And by that, he didn’t mean to be used on him.

Riddle turned around, walking toward him with the cat still in his hand. Azul stepped aside for a bit so Riddle could stand face-to-face with the first year. “Isn’t this your familiar?” he asked, raising the cat. “Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

The first year raised an eyebrow at him then shook his head. “It’s not mine,” he said. “I’ve never seen him in my life. That raccoon was the one who opened my coffin before time and wanted to steal my robe.”

“Oh, did he now?” Riddle commented, staring sternly at the cat who stopped itself from protesting further. “Well then, we must throw you out of this school now.”

Azul walked up to him, offering his hands. “Let me hold on to that, Riddle.”

Riddle gladly dropped the cat into his arms and Azul cradled it just like how Mr. Mozus Trein holds his cat, Lucius. “Gyahhh! Let me go!” the cat screamed.

But Azul just smiled, patting and stroking at the top of its head. “What a spirited little animal~”

The first year let out a sigh as he rubbed his temple. “He’s unbelievable,” he muttered to which the cat hissed at him, but he ignored him completely, focusing on the two prefects. “Thank you for helping me,” he said, rather sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

Azul nodded at him. “No problem, Mister... Oh, it appears I’ve forgotten your name.”

He chuckled. “My name is Jonah.”

Azul smiled and nodded again. “Ah yes, Jonah Argentum, correct?” he held the hissing cat in his left hand and stretched out his right one toward the first year. “A pleasure to meet an adorable underclassman like you.”

Jonah took the hand, accepting the handshake. “The pleasure is mine... I guess?”

“Oh, my! Where are my manner?” he chuckled as he dropped his hand after the handshake. “I am Azul Ashengrotto, Prefect of Octavinelle. And…”

That was when Azul realized that Riddle had stayed quiet for quite a while. His was frowning, mouth slightly opened, confusion shone in his eyes. Azul himself frowned. He had never seen Riddle with that. He seemed… Lost.

When he cleared his throat, Riddle snapped back from his trance. He looked at Jonah who was glancing at Riddle and Azul back and forth, probably wondering what he did wrong. It was Riddle’s turn to clear his throat, answering with a steadier voice than Azul expected after that expression. “Riddle Rosehearts, Prefect of Heartslabyul.”

Jonah smiled again, this time it was he who offered his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

The weird expression on Riddle was back. Ah... Now Azul sort of understood. _Riddle Rosehearts, the Crimson Tyrant, someone who is feared in his dorm, and maybe in the whole academy, meeting up with Jonah Argentum, a new first year, so pure and innocent, without any knowledge of his reputation, who is smiling at him._ He was sure the first years during the ceremony didn't give him a smile as genuine as Jonah's.

Azul cleared his throat again, snapping Riddle back from his deep thought. The redhead look at Jonah’s hand, then at his face filled with confusion. Slowly, he raised his hand accepting the handshake, while saying in a voice softer than before, “Yes. You too.”

_How interesting…_

* * *

The door to the empty Mirror Chamber was finally opened, revealing the two prefects, the new student, and no raccoon in sight. “Welcome back!” Crowley greeted, being the only one in the room, as he walked toward them. “And thank you for all of your help."

The three students nodded, though Rosehearts wasn’t smiling, which was quite understandable with his personality. “You’re welcome, principal~” said Ashengrotto with a hand on his chest and bow slightly.

“I have already asked Mister Clover and the Leech twins to help in guiding your new underclassmen to your dorm in your place. Mister Rosehearts, Mister Ashengrotto, you may leave now,” Crowley said once again. “Once again, thank you.” Both Rosehearts and Ashengrotto nodded before turning around to leave the room. He saw the Octavinelle Prefect gave Argentum a pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile, which made the boy smile in return.

Once they were alone again, the principal let out a sigh. “Now then, Mister Argentum,” he said, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about this, but... We must have you leave this academy.”

Argentum blinked in confusion. “What?”

Crowley sighed again. “I cannot allow someone who has no magic ability to enroll in this school.”

Argentum looked at him with a down expression. Disappointment maybe, but also understanding. “Oh. Yeah. That’s understandable.” He then bowed. “Sorry for all the trouble. I didn’t mean to make those commotions.”

Crowley smiled softly at him. “There is no need to worry. The Dark Mirror will promptly send you back home.” He placed his hand on the boy’s back and guided him to the platform in front of the Dark Mirror again. Once the boy stood there, Crowley stood behind him, hands on each of his shoulders for measurement. “Now, visualize your home very clearly…”

Argentum nodded and close his eye. The Slave in the Magic Mirror appeared once again from the green smokes. “Now, Dark Mirror! Guide this child back to the place they belong to!”

…

…

Crowley cleared his throat in embarrassment. “One more time. Dark Mirror! Guide this-”

The Slave cut him off. “It is nowhere.”

Crowley dropped his hand from the boy’s shoulder. “What?”

“Nowhere in this world does this one belong. There is nothing.”

“What did you say?” Crowley snapped, causing Argentum to open his eye in surprise. “That is unbelievable! Ah, there’s just been one impossible thing after the next today...”

The headmaster started to pace around, muttering under his breath. “This is the first time anything like this has happened since I became headmaster. I’m not sure what to do...” He stopped in front of Argentum. “Which country are you even from?”

The boy blinked before answering, “I’m from...” He blinked again, mouth slightly agape, his head slowly lowered, eye darting from the side to the floor. “From...”

Crowley frowned. “Mister Argentum?”

Jonah raised his head again. Confusion and panic were written all over his face. His voice sounded smaller than usual. “I... I can’t remember...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't post this yesterday because I fell asleep. Yesterday I had a test and all of my energy were drained.  
> If I have time and energy, I can probably write and post the next chapter this evening (according to my timezone).  
> Also, some changes here and there. The interaction of Azul, Riddle, and Jonah is made up. Azul will probably be interacting with Jonah later in the story, maybe during Riddle's arc. Riddle will also be interacting more with Jonah at some times outside his arc.  
> Skipping the aftermath of the Entrance Ceremony, because who knows how long they need to throw Grim out of the gate. With the price of Lilia's first appearance, for the sake of plot progression.


	5. Bewildering Amnesia! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an amnesiac student talks to the principal.

Jonah looked down at the half-filled mug in his hand. The headmaster said it was chocolate. It was warm and sweet, slightly bitter, but Jonah liked it. After the reveal in the Mirror Chamber, the headmaster decided to take him somewhere else. The original plan was the library again, but after seeing his probably panic face, the headmaster ended up taking him to the cafeteria, asking the cafeteria ghost chef to make them some warm drink.

“Nothing?” The headmaster asked, causing Jonah to clutch his mug tighter. “Nothing at all?”

He shook his head. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

It was true. He tried his best to rake his brain, looking for clues. He remembered the sound of galloping horses, he remembered taking the hand through the mirror. _But before that? Everything was blurry._ He couldn’t see any landmarks or interesting features. There were sounds, voices, but those were muffled. He couldn’t recognize any of them. He was sure it wasn’t Senior Ashengrotto, Senior Rosehearts, the headmaster, that raccoon, or any voices he had heard this day. He couldn’t pick up and accent or distinguish whether those were females or males.

_None of this makes any sense…_

“Did you have anything on you when you first came here?” The headmaster asked again. “Any kind of identification—a magic drivers’ license, or a slipper… You appear to be empty-handed, though.”

Jonah shook his head again. “I don't think so. I'm the only one in the coffin.”

 _What is he going to do?_ He didn’t know where he came from. He didn’t know why he is here. _Why can’t he remember anything?!_

“Are you...” Jonah spoke with a small voice. “Are you going to throw me out?”

Crowley let out a hum, thinking hard. “This is quite a dilemma. I can’t keep someone unable to use magic at this school.”

Jonah sighed and nodded. He was already expecting the worst. Though of what was he supposed to do after this still became the question.

“However!” Crowley suddenly declared, standing up, and Jonah flinched at the loud voice. “As an educator, throwing out a penniless youth who has no contact with their guardians would just break my heart. Since I am so very kind!”

Jonah looked up to him and mouthed, “What?”

Crowley looked down. He probably noticed how surprised the boy was because he cleared his throat in embarrassment before sitting down again. He put a hand on Jonah's shoulder, talking to him with a calmer and softer voice than before. “I will allow you to stay there for the time being,” he said, his lips pulled up a reassuring smile. “In the meantime, I will search for anything related to your name. There couldn't be more than one or two children named 'Jonah Argentum' in this world.”

Jonah's eye widened. “R-Really? I… I can stay here?”

Crowley’s smile widened. “Of course!” he said, voice rising but it didn’t frightened or bother Jonah. “Ahh, how kind I am~! Aren’t I such an exemplary educator~?”

Jonah took the hand on his shoulder and shook them hard with his two hands. He looked brighter than before. His eye twinkling with gratefulness and a big smile formed on his face. “Thank you! Thank you so much for your help!”

Crowley laughed. “Of course! Of course.” He patted Jonah’s head. “Now, finish your chocolate. I know a place where you can stay. It’s a little old, but a tasteful building.”

Jonah nodded. His smile never left his face. _Maybe... Things can go well for a bit..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, stories with amnesiac characters are kinda a hit-or-miss for me. Some use them to make bland characters, others are actually good with their build-up and create an interesting mystery.  
> I already have an idea of how I will carry Jonah's amnesia. I kinda have an idea, but I'm worried about how I will bring the execution.


	6. Various Guests in the Room! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a reason why it was called the 'Ramshackle Dorm'.

It was old, sure, but it was certainly _not_ tasteful.

“Is this the place?” Jonah asked, looking at the principal with a raised eyebrow.

The building, resting on a tiny hill, was on the verge of falling apart, with cracks on the wall and stoned-path between it and the rusty gate. All of the windows were shut, not a single light shone from inside. There weren't any single green plants around the yard. Well, there were some bushes, but they seemed to be dry and dying, sticking out there like a graveyard tombstone in the night. Not to mention the leafless tree just added the horror aspects.

“Yes, it is,” Crowley nodded. “In the past, it was used as a dormitory, so with a little cleaning it should be livable.” Crowley opened the gate. It made a creaking sound that hurt Jonah’s ears. “Well then, come inside.” Crowley guided the boy inside. A cold wind blew against them, making Jonah shivered and pulled his robe closer.

The building looked even miserable closed up. Crowley took out up a key from his pocket and opened the front door, spider web appeared between the cracks. Jonah covered his mouth when he coughed. Near the door, there was a light switch, so Crowley pressed it down, and the room was lit up. The room was dusty, spider webs in nearly every corner, ripped wallpapers, and some furniture were broken or being covered by white sheets. _Overall, it was disgusting._

Crowley patted his shoulder. “Apologize. It's not much, but at least it can shield you from the rain and wind,” he said in a sincere voice. “I’m going to grab some things, so pass time as you like.”

Jonah took a step further inside, spun his body around so he could look at everything he could. It was not much, but a place to sleep nonetheless. “Alright,” he said when he stopped spinning and stood up straight at the headmaster. “Thank you again.”

Crowley laughed proudly. “It's not a problem~ And remember. Don’t loiter around the academy!”

He tipped his head again and Jonah answered him with a nod of his own before he left, closing the door behind him. Jonah sighed. He turned around to look at the dusty lounge. _Maybe he could do some cleaning? Yeah. That sounded like a great idea._

“Alright then,” he muttered under his breath. He walked up toward one of the long furniture covered sheet and pulled it away, sneezing when the dust flew to his nose. He was right. It was a sofa. He could sleep here. Mostly he didn’t dare to go upstairs yet since the stairs looked dangerous with those hole on the steps.

Taking off his robe and put it on the arm of the sofa, revealing his simple white shirt and black trousers _(which again, how did he get this clothes?)_ , Jonah started to walk around. He didn’t go far in the hallway, the light from the lounge didn’t reach there. Stopping in front of a door and opening it, he was relieved that it was a closet. It was filled with various dusty cleaning equipment, but he didn’t want to protest too much. He picked a broom and was about to close the door when he spotted a small chest at the corner of the closet.

“Wonder what’s inside?” he muttered. Kneeling, he pulled the chest to the hallway. It wasn’t heavy as he thought it would. It felt empty. Trying the lid, surprised that it was unlocked, Jonah pulled the lid off.

There was only one thing inside the chest. A ball-shaped object, covered with a rag. He picked the object up, feeling solid in the hand. Jonah frowned, unwrapping it completely, only to find a strange, bronze, orb with futuristic lines and circle engraved on it. He turned the object around, inspecting it, only to have himself not finding any name or signature on it. It looked like an ordinary heavy ball.

_What exactly is this?_

A booming noise sounded, making Jonah duck down the ground. It was soon followed by a rapid sound of _*pitter-patter*._ Jonah lifted himself again. _Oh, it was just the rain?_ He sighed. _That was a relief._ He closed the chest again and pushed it back into the closet. He was still holding the orb, thinking whether he should keep this interesting strange thing or not. He closed the door and picked up the broom next to the door and was about to turn around when he heard the creaking sound of the front door. _Was it the headmaster again? That was a quick trip._

“Gah--! Why’d it have to rain so hard all of a sudden?”

_Wait._

Jonah ran toward the lounge, eye widened and broom in hand just in case he had to smack something. He could felt his eye twitched. That pesky raccoon had returned, fur all wet, water dripping, and puddle under his feet. Despite his soggy appearance, the raccoon let out a laugh when he saw Jonah. “Gyahahaha! You’re such a twink without that robe!”

Jonah didn’t know what that means, but he felt insulted. He held his broom tighter. “What are you doing here?!”

The raccoon - _Grim_ , Jonah reminded himself - put his paws on his hips and puffed up his chest. "For the great me, to sneak back into the academy is a piece of cake!” he exclaimed. “If they think I will give up just because they threw me out, you have another thing coming!”

“Ugh...” Jonah rolled his head. “Seriously... Why do you want to get into the academy so bad?”

“It's simple, really!” he said in a proud tone. “I am a genius born to become a great magician! I've always been waiting for when the Ebony Carriage would pick me up. Even so... even so...” For a moment his expression was down, brows frowned, and a look of sadness on his face. Jonah raised his eyebrow at him. _What is up with him?_

But the expression changed quickly. He was now pouting, paws crossed in front of his chest. “Hmph! The Dark Mirror has no eyes anyway.” He looked back at Jonah as he floated from the ground so they were in equal sight. “That’s why I came here myself! Those humans don’t know what they will miss from me.”

Jonah rolled his eye again. “Yeah,” he muttered raising the corner of his lips into a smirk. “I'm sure they are waiting for that stuck-up attitude of yours.”

Grim was fuming, sparks came out from his flaming ears. “Why you-”

_*drip*_

“Nyah! Cold!” Grim yelled, patting the wet spot on his head. He looked up and saw a wet patch on the ceiling. “The roof’s leaking!”

_*drip* *psszz…*_

“Fugya!” he screamed again. “It keeps on coming! My flaming ears are going to disappear!”

Jonah looked up to the wet patch under Grim. “Well, this is a rundown building,” he stated. Sighing, he turned around, heading toward the closet again. “I'm gonna get a bucket.”

“You know we can just use magic to fix this, right?” Grim huffed before a playful smile formed in his face. “Wait. Oh yeah~ You don't have one!”

Jonah was fuming. Grim was laughing at him and he did not like it. “Then you do that!” he shouted, nearly throwing his orb that he unconsciously kept holding on until now.

Grim huffed. “Like I want to do that. I'm just a tiny monster taking shelter from the rain.” He floated to an armchair, still covered with a white cloth and folded his paws behind the back of his head, leaning against the chair. “If you give me a canned tuna, maybe I'll lend you a sprinkle,” he smugly said, tail wagging arrogantly.

Jonah rolled his eye. “Yeah, no. Buy it on your own.”

Grim just looked him smugly, clearly had no intention to move from his position. Jonah huffed again as he turned around.

 _Stupid raccoon._

“There.” Jonah let out a sigh when he placed a metal bucket under a leak in the ceiling, furthest down the hallway. “That's the last leak. So far.” He turned around, looking at the bucket he had placed along the way. It was quite a lot. He had to use some unused bottles and cups too. And he hadn’t even started with the second floor.

He sighed and rubbed his eye. _How long he had been up? Maybe he could take a break for a while._

“Hihihihi...”

Jonah stopped his tracks. “What is that?”

“It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a guest, isn't it Soo?” A childish voice echoed through the empty hallway. Jonah gripped his broom tighter. _Was it another demon-raccoon?_ His eye darted from corner to corner, but he couldn’t find the source of the voice.

“I’m itching to work out, Lou!” Another voice echoed, a bit higher than the first one. “What do you think, Barret?”

“Ihihihihi!” One more voice echoed, lower than the other two. “This is going to be fun!”

“Show yourself!” shouted Jonah, swinging his broom. The three voices giggled and all of a sudden Jonah could sense a new presence behind him. He turned around, raising his broom.

There were children. _Middle school age, maybe? Or maybe freshmen?_ Three transparent boys were floating in the dark hallway. The one named Lou was dressed in a devil costume. The one named Soo, tallest of the bunch, was wearing a wizard costume, complete with the pointy hat. And the last one, Barrett, chubbiest and shortest, was in a skeleton costume.

It didn’t change the fact that _they are ghosts_! _This building is HAUNTED!_

“Aaaaahhhh!” Jonah fell to his butt, scuttled backward in fear, broom dropped to the floor, forgotten. _Why did this happen to him?!_

“What are you being so loud for...?” Grim floated lazily toward him, rubbing his sleepy eye with his paw. When he raised his head from looking down at him, his fur immediately stood up. “Gyaaaaaa!!!” he screamed from the top of his lung. “G-g-g-g-gho... ghoooooooooooooost!”

Soo giggled as he and his friends started to fly toward them, in which Jonah and Grim respond by moving backward. “Everyone who lives here all got scared of us and leave,” he sighed.

Barret was floating upside down behind Grim. “We’re always looking for new ghost pals. How about you joining us?”

Jonah paled. “Y-You're going to kill us?!” he shouted, scrambling to stand up again.

“Uuu, uuuuh--!” Grim tried to put on a brave face, raising his paws. But Jonah could see he was trembling. “The great magician Grim isn’t scared of some ghosts!”

It was when he saw a familiar glowing blue circle underneath the raccoon feet Jonah realized that he wasn’t wearing the magic-collar Senior Rosehearts had put on him. “Wha- No fire!”

He was too late to warn him. “Funna~!” He blew a ball of blue flame from his mouth, hitting the wall and burnt the already ruined wallpaper. Lou appeared next to the burnt spot, snickering. “Where are you aiming at?” he taunted, only making Grim angrier. He blew another fireball near the floor that Jonah was lucky to avoid burning his shoes.

“We’re here, here! Hihihihihi!” Barret laughed, appearing above Jonah’s head. Jonah looked up, just when Barret reached out to his face, pulling the medical eye-patch until it snapped.

“Ow!” Jonah yelled, covering his right eye immediately. He didn’t know - _didn’t remember_ \- what had happened to him, but if it was pretty bad, he didn’t want anyone, ghosts or Grim, to laugh at him.

“Damn it!” Grim hissed. “Stop disappearing like that!” He shot Barret, but the ghost disappeared again and Jonah had to duck to the floor unless he wanted to get burn.

“Stop it, you stupid raccoon!” he shouted, standing up again. “You'll burn the whole dorm down!”

“How many times I have to tell you I'm not a raccoon?!” Grim screamed back, glaring at him.

“Don't just throw fires randomly like that! We have to get rid of them, yes! But we need a plan!”

“Who do you think you are, puny human?! You have no right to order me around!”

“Ihihihihi!” The ghosts were laughing at their screaming contest. They appeared again, flying in circles around them. Jonah and Grim pressed their back onto each other, watching how they were surrounded.

“There’s so many of you, cowards!” Grim yelled, ready to shoot them again.

Jonah knew they couldn’t let this keep ongoing. They need to finish this now so he could get his well-deserved sleep. “Listen to me!” he said, glancing at the raccoon behind him. “I'll give you a can of tuna if you going to follow me!”

Grim paused. “What...!?” He looked up at him for a second, before huffing. ”Gununu, I-I’m a genius, you know. I can finish these guys by myself...”

Jonah just wanted to pull his hair in frustration. “Ugh! Why are you-” he groaned “Fine. Fine! Two cans! Deal?!”

Grim looked troubled, grumbling under his breath before finally letting out a scream. “Oi, you! Tell me where the ghosts are!”

Jonah quickly looked around, not letting this chance slip away. From corner to corner, there was silence. But then, he saw his eye-patch floating. “There!” he screamed, pointing at his eye-patch. “Fire just above it!”

Grim immediately turned around, jumping onto Jonah’s head. His magic circle appeared underneath him and he blew a stream of fire, hitting the chubby ghost straight in the face!

“Hot, hot, hot!” Barret screamed, dropping Jonah’s eye-patch as he slowly appeared. Lou and Soo also appeared, clearly trying to calm their friend down.

“Ah, I hit 'em!” Grim yelled in excitement, pumping his paws to the air. Jonah couldn’t help but let out a laugh, happy that it worked. Grim went all-four, paws planted on Jonah’s head, a magic circle appeared underneath him. “We’re gonna drive them away just like this!” he said, sparks came out from his mouth.

Jonah nodded, slowly lowering his hand from covering his right eye. He saw how the ghost freeze. _Wow, is his eye that bad?_ No. This wasn’t the time to think about his appearance. _Now, it’s time for some ghost busting!_

“Let's do this!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Battle will probably happen in the next chapter if the dialogues are short. I'm worried. I'm not that good in writing battle scenes.
> 
> The guest character this time are Lou, Soo, and Barret. They are based on Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Oogie Boogie's "little henchmen" from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I never watch that movie, but I've seen them in Kingdom Hearts.  
> I just love refencing stuff, okay?


	7. Warm-Hearted Principal! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah is a Pokemon Trainer. Confirmed.  
> Also Crowley keeps reminding us of how kind he is.

Crowley opened the rusty gate of the Ramshackle Dorm and closed it behind him. In his hand, he was carrying a small lunch box and a pair of pajamas in plastic, along with some simple bathing supplies which he bought from Sam's store. _Ahh... Helping a poor child who has nowhere else to go…How gracious he is~_ When he was about to open the door when he heard a loud _*boom!*_ , followed a blue spark from the first-floor window. "Oya?! What was that?" he muttered, immediately opening the door not bothering to knock, worried something happened to the boy.

What he saw was something he wasn't expecting.

The boy, already out of his Ceremonial Robe, stood in the middle of the lounge, his back facing him. The raccoon that caused havoc at the Entrance Ceremony was back, standing all-four on top of the boy's head, smoke coming out of his nostril and magic circle underneath his paws.

They were standing glancing at every corner. Crowley could make out a silhouette of three figures, surrounding them. _Oh, come to think of it…_ There were some mischievous ghosts settled down and students stopped approaching the place, making it an abandoned dorm. _It must've slipped his mind._

One of the ghosts suddenly appeared, a freshman dressed in a wizard outfit appeared on their left, laughing and flying straight toward them. Crowley was about to warn them, shouting for them to get out of the way, when suddenly Argentum shouted, "Grim, shot at 2 o'clock!"

Grim took a deep breath until his cheeks puffed, and shot fireball from his mouth with a "Funaa!" The ghost let out a scream and disappeared.

Argentum twisted his body a little but didn't saw the headmaster standing behind him. "Coming up at 7 o'clock!"

Grim, however, did. He jumped, turning around from his position to shoot a ghost in a devil costume hear Crowley's feet. The headmaster stepped away from the blast and screaming ghost. Grim shut his mouth noticing the new person in the room. His face became pale and his fur stood up. "Eek! You-"

"12 o'clock, double attack!" Argentum shouted, pointing straight to the hallway where two ghosts, the devil and skeleton flying toward them. Grim immediately turned around, ignoring the headmaster once again, shooting two fireballs at the approaching ghost repeatedly, and earning their screams.

The ghost didn't give up though. They began to fly in circles around them. Grim hissed in annoyance. He was already huffing and puffing. "They're still surrounding us!"

He could see Argentum moving his head slightly, looking at their situation. "They're coming at once," he muttered, before glancing up at Grim. "You still have some energy left for one more big attack?"

Grim huffed. "Don't underestimate me, puny human! The great me still have the strength to blow them away!"

Crowley heard Argentum chuckled. He then raised his hand, as if he was going to unleash the biggest spell he will conjure. "Grim, unleash your fire field!" he shouted.

"Fununununu..." A blue magic circle appeared beneath Grim's and Argentum's feet, expanding until it reached the ghost position. "Eat this!" The raccoon shouted as a pillar of blue flame burst out from the floor, hitting all the ghosts and one but not hurting the boy or himself.

Crowley saw how the ghosts were flickering the pillar of flame stopped. All of them were exhausted. "Hi, hii~! We’re gonna get erased! Run~!" shouted one of the ghosts, but Crowley didn't care who. When the ghosts disappeared, all of his focus went to the boy and the raccoon on top of his head. _For a human, a non-magical being, to be able to make monsters to obey them..._ It was a rare talent, even among the most high-rank magicians. _For someone who didn't even have proper training yet... For someone as curious and strange as Argentum..._

Grim panted, laying on his stomach on top of Argentum's head. "I... won?"

Crowley could imagine Argentum was grinning from ear-to-ear. "You did it! You got rid of them!"

Grim let out a big sigh. "Huff... hii... tha-that was scar-" He huffed and stood on his two legs, paws on his hips and chest puffed out. "No, it wasn’t scary at all! For the Great Grim, it was a piece of cake!"

Hearing Argentum chuckled, Crowley thought this would be a good time to reveal himself. He cleared his throat. "Ahem."

The two youngsters immediately froze. "He's here..." he heard Grim whispered with a stuttering voice. Argentum gulped loudly and slowly turned around to face him, jumping backward slightly when he saw him fully with time.

"H-Headmaster!" he squeaked. Crowley looked at the boy from top to bottom. He didn't show any sign of injuries or even burn marks, which was good, or else he would whip the raccoon again for injuring a child. He already prepared a lecture of 'don't play with fire inside a building even if it was for self-defense', but he held his tongue when he finally noticed that Argentum wasn't wearing his eye-patch. His right eye was revealed.

_This kid... Will he ever stop surprising him?_

It wasn't like his eyes has a scar or anything. But it was... _interesting_. His eyelid was dark, similar to a purple bruise color as if he was punched earlier. If those ghosts or the raccoon did that, he would surely give them hell. The bruise-like-skin aside, he was more surprised with the color of the boy's eyes. It was yellow, not the iris, but the whole sclera. As if someone shoved a Topaz stone into his eye. He didn't have a pupil on his right eyes, or maybe it combined itself with that only blood-red iris.

_What happened to this boy?_

“Headmaster?”

Crowley blinked, snapping out from his deep thoughts. Grim had already climbed down from the boy’s head, now floating beside him. Argentum himself was staring at him, head tilted to the side in confusion. _This boy..._ His teacher instinct flared up. _He knew there was something about this boy... His cluelessness, his curiosity, his hidden talent... He had the makings of a trainer or a beast-master... However..._

“He likes staring at you, doesn’t he?” the raccoon whispered to him.

“Shut up,” the boy hissed at him.

Crowley cleared his throat, gaining the boy and his monster’s attention. “I have seen your battle. Quite a teamwork.”

Grim crossed his paws proudly. “Well, I won’t call that ‘teamwork’. That guy practically only watched. And I did it only because I want tuna cans.” He then realized something. The annoyed look was back in his face and he faced Argentum. “I haven’t gotten my tuna cans yet!”

Argentum groaned. “Really? This is not the time!”

Crowley cleared his throat again, the growling and hissing between them suddenly stopped. “I have decided!” he clapped his hand. Both Grim and Argentum turned toward him. “We, the academy, are responsible for the summoning of your soul, as the one owning the Dark Mirror. In any case, for the time being, both of you will be permitted to in this dormitories for free.”

Both Argentum and Grim’s eyes widened. “However, we’ll have you pay for your living necessities by yourself. As for what someone empty-handed like you can give... Hmm...”

Grim and Argentum exchanged a glance. _Did it really only take one team battle for them to communicate without words?_ “I’m only going to make you do odd jobs like maintenance within the school,” he continues, earning questioning looks from the two of them. “For starters, what about you two teaming up as the 'handymen'? Judging from your appearance, Mister Argentum, you seem to be quite good at cleaning.”

Argentum looked down at himself, as if to make sure of it himself, which Crowley found rather endearing. “If you do that, I will give you special permission to stay inside the school,” he continued, Argentum’s focus went back to him. “I will also permit you to use the library to find something that will jog your memories, as well as to study after you finish your work. I am kind, after all~”

“Eeh~!?” Grim whined and pouted like a child. “I don’t wanna! I also want to wear that cool uniform and become a student!”

“If you’re unsatisfied, then it’s alright. We only have to throw you out again,” he added.

Grim gulped while Argentum tried to hold back his laughter. The raccoon crossed his paws in front of his chest again. “Fine... I only have to do that, right!”

Argentum rolled his eyes while smiling. He looked straight at Crowley, two different kinds of eyes staring at him. “Thank you for your kindness, Headmaster,” he said with a sincere voice, bowing slightly.

Crowley let out a smile. Such a curious boy... “Very well. Then, you two. Starting tomorrow, work hard as Night Raven College’s handymen!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write battle scene no matter how hard I try.  
> So, I decided to combine Prologue 6 and 7, since Crowley has already seen how Jonah and Grim work together as Pokemon and Trainer, he didn't need to test them again.  
> Also, am I the only one who wonders how did the student carry their clothes? Was it like Harry Potter where their stuff magically appeared in their assigned dorm/house after the Sorting Ceremony? If so, what about the player's clothes? Did they even bring a suitcase? Are you saying we didn't change clothes at all?
> 
> Also, I'm probably going to combine two or three more chapters in the next update, because you know who will appear...


	8. Cheeky Encounter! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I made Crowley slightly a dad.  
> Oh, hello Ace!

Jonah stared at the bathroom mirror in front of him, staring at his reflection, more specifically his right eye. When he poked his eyelid, he didn’t feel any pain. It felt normal. _So, what happened?_

“I look like a half-demon,” he muttered. He finished tying up his hair and walked out of the bathroom, wearing his yesterday clothes and carrying his used pajamas. Last night, after making some deals with the headmaster, Crowley helped him set up his room. More like he used magic to make the bedroom looked brand new, which he was grateful for, knowing he didn’t need to sleep on the couch.

Though sharing the bed with Grim was another story. The demon-raccoon kept on tossing and turning, hitting him on the face and kicking his side. Not to mention his snores. Let’s just say that the pesky raccoon was the reason he didn’t get enough sleep.

When he walked out to the bathroom, a towel over his wet hair, he found a peculiar sight. Grim was still sleeping, snoring loudly. Though he had company. The three ghosts were back, one of them poking the chubby raccoon’s cheek.

“Hihihi...” Lou giggled. “Don’t you have to clean up the academy now?"

Grim grumbled in his sleep before turning to the side, mumbling, “Munya... Five more minutes...”

“If you keep rolling around lazily like that, one day you won’t be able to wake up for eternity, you know?” teased Soo.

“Just like us!” Barret ended with a laugh.

“Why are you guys back?” Jonah knew his voice didn’t sound angry or annoyed. Mostly just flat. He had no desire to deal with this in the early morning.

All three ghosts turned to him. He could see how they paused for a second. _Weird. Were they still wondering about his eye?_ One of them, maybe Lou, broke into a laugh before soon followed by Soo and Barret. They started flying toward him, circling them and Jonah was trying his best not to smack them off.

“So, you both are going to live here from now on?” Lou laughed. “You guys are so prank-worthy, kekeke!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. Grim yawned widely before snuggling back into the bed. An idea sparked in Jonah’s mind. “I don’t want some pranks, but…” he paused, for dramatic effect. It gained the ghosts' attention, all of them pausing in front of his face. He pulled up the corner of his lips. “If you can be that raccoon’s personal alarm clock, I’ll let you stay.”

The ghost looked at each other, probably having a mental discussion before grinning widely. They all disappeared. Jonah thought they decline his deal, but when he saw Grim suddenly floated, with Soo lifting him by the neck and Lou floating in front of him, standing by. Jonah covered his mouth stop himself from laughing too loud.

“Uu~mm...” The cat blinked lazily. He looked straight ahead, not fully awake. Lou took this as a cue. He covered his face with his hand before pulling the corner of his mouth, teeth sharp, tongue wiggling out and eyes darted in every direction.

“OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!”

“FUGYAAAAAAA!!!”

All three ghost laughed, Jonah himself joined in the laugh. Soo dropped Grim on the bed before he and Lou disappeared. Barret, who floated next to Jonah, offered him a high-five, which Jonah gladly accepted it, smacking his hand with the ghost’s (he was surprised he could do that).

“See you tomorrow~” Barret howled, disappearing. Grim was still shaking, heavily breathing with a paw on his chest. Jonah walked toward him.

“You’re awake?” Jonah asked, trying to keep his voice steady after laughing.

“The ghosts!” he screamed waving his paws. “The ghosts are back!” He jumped to all-four. “Where are they?! I’m gonna drive them out again!”

Jonah looked around. “I think they are gone.” He smiled. Grim was still shaking, eyes glaring to every corner. Jonah frowned. _Did he go too far?_

After thinking about it, remembering what Grim did to deserve that, he shrugged.

 _Nah. He deserved it._

* * *

When Crowley opened the door to the Ramshackle Dorm building while carrying a brown paper bag and a first-aid kit, he saw Argentum and Grim were already sitting on the lounge sofa. “Good morning, both of you!” he greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

“No!” Grim shouted, floating from his heat. “This guy took all the space! We were woken up by the ghosts this morning! It was the worst!”

Argentum, who was being pointed at by Grim accusingly, looked like he tried to hide his laugh. But he was smiling as he stood up from his seat. “It was a nice sleep, Headmaster,” he said with a nod.

“Wonderful!” Crowley exclaimed. He lifted the brown paper bag. “I brought you breakfast. Aren’t I gracious~?”

Grim grinned widely. “Give me!” he immediately snatched the bag, opening it. “Ooo~” He pulled out a can of tuna from inside. “Yes!” He then turned to Argentum and threw the bag toward him.

“Whoa-” Argentum managed to catch it without spilling the inside. He looked at Crowley again. “Headmaster, you don’t have to.”

“Nonsense!” Crowley said again. “You cannot work without an empty stomach. I’m very thoughtful~” He walked toward the boy and guided him to the sofa. “Come now. Let me see that eye.”

“But it’s fine-”

“Just in case,” Crowley cut him off, pushing him lightly to the sofa. ”We still don’t know what happened. It is better to be prepared.”

Argentum seemed like he was thinking about it, but decided not to argue anymore. He closed his right eye and Crowley cringed inside. It still looked terrible even though it didn’t hurt at all. As he cleaned it, he started to talk, “Today’s work is to clean the inside of the academy. Though it will be impossible to finish cleaning the whole place without magic since the academy is very vast.”

He picked up a bottle of cream and applied it to the ‘bruising’ eyelid as he continued, “That’s why, for today, please clean the Main-Street starting from the main gate to the library. Do you understand, Mister Argentum?”

The boy nodded once Crowley wasn’t touching his eye again. The headmaster then gave him a brand new medical eye-patch. “Please look after Grim properly so he doesn’t cause an uproar like he did yesterday,” he added. Argentum nodded again as a reply after he finished wearing the eye-patch.

At the arm of the sofa behind Argentum, Grim licked his paw after finishing his can of tuna. “Tch... I can’t stand doing things like cleaning up!” he whined. “I also want to attend the magic classes and do lots of cool magic~ Like boom! Bo-bo-bo-boom!” He raised his paws to add the effect.

Argentum rolled his eye. “Oh.” He opened his paper bag and took out a sandwich, still wrapped in paper, Crowley brought for him. “Thank you for the breakfast, Headmaster.”

Crowley smiled and nodded at him. “I’m relying on you,” he said. “I will give you permission to eat lunch at the school cafeteria.”

“Will they have that soup you brought last night?”

“Hm? You mean the ‘Bonzabeast Stew’?” Argentum nodded. “Of course, they have!”

He stood up, followed by the other two. “Alright, finish your breakfast and work hard!” Argentum nodded while Grim was still grumbling. He tipped his head as a farewell and left them to prepare themselves. 

* * *

“Whoa~ So cool! So this is the Main-Street.”

Jonah had to agree. He and Grim stood at the white-brick street with statues along the sides. The street was filled with students, walking, running, and chatting along the way toward the main building, which was the school probably. Compare to the other students, Jonah looked like a hobo. He didn’t wear any blazer, vest, or tie. He looked so out of place. Not to mention, he was holding a garden-broom, which added to his lowly appearance. And also the raccoon was flying ahead from him.

“I didn’t get a good look yesterday, but what’s with these statues?” the raccoon said, gaining attention from the passing students, which was something Jonah didn’t want. “All seven of them look pretty scary.”

He floated closer to one of the statues. It was a lady with a massive physique. Her hair was tied in the back with a headband, dressed in a gown with a small crown on top of her head and a heart-shaped fan in her hand. “This granny looks especially snobby, see?”

“You don’t know the Queen of Hearts?”

Both Jonah and Grim turned to the source of the voice. It was a boy with messy, dark orange hair and red eyes. Over his right eye, he had a red patch shaped like a heart. His vest color was red. _Does that mean he was from Senior Rosehearts’ dorm?_

“Queen of Hearts?” Grim repeated. “Is she an important person?

“In the olden days, she was the queen who lived inside the rose maze,” the boy explained as he walked up toward the statue, looking at it with admiration. “She’s a strict person who respects discipline, and she won’t forgive any disorder among the Trump Soldiers’ advance, or in the roses’ color. Even though it’s a country full of insane guys, they’re all in complete obedience to her. Why do you ask? It’s because disobedience to the law will get you instantly beheaded!”

Jonah looked at him in shock. “Beheaded? As in, they’ll lose their head?!”

“T-That’s scary!” shouted Grim.

But the boy just grinned. “Isn’t it cool!? I like it. ‘Cause, like, nobody will obey a queen that’s only kindhearted, right?”

Grim put a paw on his cheek, thinking deep. “Hmm… That’s true. It’s better to have a strong leader.” He nodded. Jonah stared at him with a questioning brow because did he ignore the part where they _CHOP PEOPLE’S HEADS OFF?!_

“By the way, who are you?” Grim asked again.

“I’m Ace.” The boy grinned again, pointing his thumb at himself. “A fresh first-year student. Nice to meetcha.”

“I am the great Grim!” Grim puffed up his chest proudly. “I’m a genius who’ll become a great magician!” He landed on Jonah’s head. “And this dull one is Jonah. My henchman.”

Jonah rolled his eye. “Just ignore him.” He stretched out his hand to Ace. “Jonah Argentum.”

Ace took it and gave a firm shake. “Jonah, eh? That’s a cool name.”

Jonah blinked. “Really?”

Grim floated toward Ace, pulling his sleeve. “Hey, hey, Ace. Then, is that lion with the scar on his eye also a famous guy?” Grim pointed to the statue of a lion standing on top of a rock. He looked elegant and poised, but also unkempt and wild-looking, with lithe and melanistic in appearance with a sleek mane and almond-shaped eyes. He had large paws with long, curving claws. He also sported a goatee beard and a small, thin, scar over his left eye.

“Of course!” Ace exclaimed. “He’s the King of Beasts who ruled over the savanna. However, he’s not a born-king. He’s a hard worker who took over the throne with a scrupulous plan he made by himself. After he became king, he proposed to live together with the hyenas, who were hated by everyone, too, without discriminating them.”

Grim looked at the statue in awe. “Ooh, people who don’t get swayed by social status? Rocks!"

Jonah stared at the raccoon. _Did he try to make a pun?_

Grim floated to another statue. "Who’s the auntie with the octopus legs before him?”

He pointed a statue of a half-human half-octopus holding an opened scroll. She was plump light has six octopus-like tentacles with suckers from the waist down. She wore coral shell earrings and a nautilus shell necklace. “She’s the Witch of the Sea who lives in a cave in the depths of the sea. Her _raison d'etre_ was to help unhappy mermaids. If you pay the price, she’d help you find a solution to any of your worries, starting from desires to change oneself to love troubles! It seems that there aren’t any wish she can’t grant. Well, I heard the cost was a bit expensive, though."

“If it’s to grant any wish, then it’s natural, don’t you think?” Jonah commented with earned a thumbs-up from Ace.

“Precisely!”

“Nyaha~! In other words, if I become a great magician, I’d get rich!?” Grim beamed. “Then, then, what about this uncle in the big hat?”

The statue was a statue of a tall, bony man dressed in extravagant clothing, robe, sash, and tall headdress, carrying a cobra headed staff, with a goatee and a faint mustache. “He’s the Great Sage of the Desert Kingdom. He’s the cabinet minister who works under the kingdom’s useless king, and he’s a clever person who managed to see through a swindler who tried deceive the princess by faking his status as a prince! And after that, he managed to get the magic lamp and rose to become the world’s number one great sage! Furthermore, it’s said that he also took the king’s throne by using that power!”

Grim laughed. “So as I thought, it’s also important for a magician to have a discerning eye!” He turned to another statue. “Ooh, this person’s beautiful!”

Jonah had to agree to that. The statue was a statue of an icily beautiful woman holding an apple with a serene, unfeeling face and a slender figure. She wore a gown with long sleeves and a rope belt tied around her waist. She wore a balaclava that covers her ears, neck, and hair, leaving her face exposed. She wore a long cloak lined with fur. She had a high collar attached to her cloak. She also wore a pendant that seems to connect with the collar and a crown. “This person’s said to be the world’s number one most beautiful queen! Every day, she checks the world’s beautiful person ranking in the mirror! And then, it’s said that if she’s about to fall from the number one spot, she won’t spare any efforts! Her, you know, high awareness to keep being the number one beauty in the world? It is impressive, right? And, it seems that she was an expert at making poisons.”

“So beautiful and scary…” Jonah looked up the statue. “Isn't that a bad thing? Deceiving others with your looks?”

Ace shrugged. “But it’s cool to know that she has something she would never give up.”

Jonah turned to Ace, tilting his head to the side. _Something she would never give up…_

_Does he have something that he’ll never give up?_

“Oi! This dude’s head is burning!” Grim pointed to the next statue. The statue of a man with flaming hair, wearing a robe, and a smoky base.

“He’s the King of the Land of the Dead! They said he ruled over a land squirming with evil spirits by himself, so he must be a super-powerful person. He has a scary face, but he’s a sincere person who does even unpleasant work pushed onto him without rest, and Cerberus, Hydra, and the Titan family all follow his orders and fight for him.”

Grim chuckled. “To not become haughty even though you have strength is an important thing. Lastly, what about this person with the horns?”

For some reason, the last statue gave Jonah chill down his spine. It was a statue of a tall, slender, woman with a narrow face and a prominent chin and horns. She was clad in a robe with bat wing-like edges and carrying a staff. “The Witch of Thorn who lives in the mountain of demons. Noble and elegant, and even compared to all the other seven here, her magic and curse skills are number one! She does things like manipulating thunderclouds to bring about a storm, fully covering a whole kingdom with thorns... Anyways, her magic’s on a super huge scale. They said she could also transform into an enormous dragon.”

Grim was excited, floating up and down in front of the statue. “Ooh~ a dragon! The admiration of every monster!”

“They’re so cool, right... Unlike a certain raccoon.”

_Wait…_

Jonah turned to Ace with a surprised look. “What?”

Grim was also surprised, pausing in mid-air. “Funa!?”

Ace started laughing so hard. “Ahahahaha! I can’t hold it in anymore! Ahahahaha!” He was hugging his stomach as he laughed. “Hey, you guys are the ones who caused a riot during the opening ceremony, right? A guy who got called in front of the mirror but actually couldn’t use magic, and the monster barging in even though he didn’t get invited!”

Jonah took a step back. _What… What happened to the boy?_ _He was friendly before, now he’s mocking them?_ He glanced toward Grim. The raccoon was fuming.

“Man~ it was so hard to stop laughing during the opening ceremony.” Ace wiped a tear from his eye. “And, in the end, you both couldn’t get into the school so you became handymen? Haha, lame.”

Grim was trembling in anger. _This is bad…_ “Grim, stop,” Jonah tried to warn.

But Ace didn’t realize this or rather ignored it. He continued, “Plus, to not know who the ‘Great Seven’ are... How ignorant are you?” He grinned at them. “I recommend you to start over from kindergarten before coming to Night Raven College.” He ended with a chuckle.

Jonah glared at the boy. "Hey, there is no need to be rude!" He was angry also. _So what if he doesn't know anything about the school or the great history? He doesn't even remember anything from HISpast, how is he supposed to remember THIS WORLD'S past?!_

“I thought I’d just mess you a bit, but you guys blew my expectation away,” he grinned, clearly ignoring what Jonah just said. “Well, I have classes, unlike you guys, so, bye! Work hard cleaning, you both!”

“This guy...” Grim growled. Jonah's eyes widened when he saw Grim activated his magic circle. “Let him talk and he crosses the line! I’m angry now!”

“Grim, no-”

“Funa~!” Grim shot a blue fireball from his mouth, aiming straight at Ace.

The boy just took a small glanced behind him and avoided it easily. “Oi!” he shouted. “What the hell are you doing!?”

“It’s because you make fun of me!” Grim shouted back. “I’ll make you spikier, you chicken butt!”

“Chicken butt…” His hand reached his head as if trying to feel his hair. He smirked as his eyes twitched in annoyance. “Heh. You got guts to pick a fight with me.” He took out a pen with a red crystal on top of it. “You too, I’ll turn you into a frizzy toy poodle!”

“What’s up? A fight?”

“Nice! Get'em!”

Jonah looked around in panic. A crowd had gathered around them, enjoying the free show, some with red vest cheering for Ace. _This is bad… This is bad…_ Grim was strong, but he was uncoordinated without Jonah. He didn’t know how strong Ace is so he couldn’t predict how bad this will end. _What to do… What to do…_

“Funa~!” Grim shot another fireball.

“Oops, that’s dangerous. Take this!” A red magic circle appeared below Ace. He waved his wand, changing the direction of the fire with his wind.

Grim growled. “This guy, he used magic to make the wind blow! My flame’s bending!”

Ace laughed. “You think that kinda flimsy flame would hit me?”

“What did you say!? Prepare yourself!” Grim shouted again, steams coming out from his ears.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Jonah shouted. But neither of them listened to him. They kept exchanging attacks. Grim kept shooting fire while Ace kept defending with his wind. All of the cheers around them only made Ace cockier, and in turn, made Grim angrier.

“Eat this!” Grim shouted, and for the umpteenth time, blew his blue flame toward Ace.

Ace smirked. “That kinda flame, I’ll just change its direction with the wind... Like this!”

He waved his wand again, sending wind to the fire. But unlike the few time before, the fire finally hit something…

The statue of the Queen of Hearts got hit. It was burnt, tiny blue flames still appeared at some part.

“Now you’ve done it!” Jonah finally shouted in a very angry tone to Grim, grabbing the cat’s neck and shaking him. “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me!”

“It’s his fault for changing the wind!” Grim shouted in the middle of the shaking, pointing at Ace.

Ace glared at them. “My fault? Whose flame is that?!”

Grim bit Jonah's hand, earning an "ow!" from the boy, forcing him to release him. The cat flew at Ace's face, screaming. "Well, who started this whole thing first?!"

"You're the one who shot first!"

"Only because you mocked me first!"

"Then maybe don't be so stupid!"

"Don't be such an asshat!"

Grim and Ace practically head to head, forehead touching, teeth-gritting, and growling like dogs. Just when magic circles were about to spark again, a voice sounded, making everything freeze.

“ENOUGH! Just what’s all this racket!?”

Ace paled. "I-It's the headmaster!"

Grim also paled. "That guy, he'll bind you with his 'whip of love'! Run!"

Ace and Grim about to run but a familiar sound of _*wwhoop-eesh!*_ sounded in the air. Suddenly, a black whip flew toward the two running figures, quickly tying them up together, sending them falling to the ground.

"That hurts!" Ace yelped.

Grim groaned in pain. "That's two days in a row, it hurts... I can't avoid it..."

The headmaster's voice broke the crowd. Some students made way for Crowley who was walking toward the tied up Ace and Grim. "It's the Whip of Love! It's 100 years too fast for you to run from me!" He let out a sigh. "I thought earlier I've told you to 'not cause an uproar'? Furthermore, you burnt the Great Seven statue to black!"

His voice became high, making Jonah, who hid between the crowds, dipped his head in shame. _Damn it. He should’ve done something before…_

He heard the footstep of Crowley turning toward him and the students stepped back to make room for them. "Mister Argentum, too, you can't call this supervising Grim!"

Jonah bit his lip. He didn't dare to raise his head. "I'm sorry- ouch." He accidentally clenched his bloody fist. _Oh, he forgot about that._

“You’re bleeding.” He heard Crowley, with a voice softer than before.

Jonah shook his head and quickly hid it behind his back. “It’s fine, Headmaster. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Crowley didn’t say anything about that. He turned back to the tied up student and monster. “You. What’s your year and name?”

Ace looked down. “Ace Trappola... I’m a first-year.”

Crowley hummed. “Well then, Mister Trappola. Grim. And Mister Argentum. As a punishment, I order you to clean one hundred windows!”

All three head shot up to look at the headmaster in shock. Before they could protest, or more like not allowed to protest, Crowley continued, “After school, gather in the school cafeteria! Understood?”

This earned a collective sigh from the three of them as they answered begrudgingly, “Yes, Headmaster…”

“Good.” The headmaster nodded. He spun his heel, looking at the still gathering students. “Now, everyone, go to class!”

The crowd slowly dismissed. Ace got up, bowing to the headmaster before joining the other to class. Crowley sigh, massaging his temple. He turned around and walk toward Jonah whose gaze was still on his shoes. He knelt in front of the boy and gently pulled the boy’s bloody hand.

“Did Grim bit you?” The headmaster asked. Behind the headmaster, Grim visibly flinched.

Jonah didn’t want to add more punishment to Grim, so he said, “It was his self-defense.”

Crowley sighed again. “We need to treat this first, then go back to work. Okay?”

Jonah nodded. “Yes, Headmaster.”

_Why did nothing go well since yesterday?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't expect this to be this long!  
> I didn't know what came to me when I wrote Crowley's part. He's basically adopting Jonah now.  
> The boy is here! Our Ace of Heart has arrived!  
> Tomorrow I have my midterm test, and there is no way I will miss that. So, I'll be spending today and tomorrow morning studying before the test next afternoon. So, expect a late-night update on Thursday or double update on Friday. Depending on your timezone.  
> Both? Both. Both are good.


	9. Out the Box! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azul and Jonah meet again.

That afternoon was a surprise for Azul. He had heard from his classmate, also from Jade and Floyd themselves, about the fight that early morning. A first-year student from Heartslabyul and a demon-cat were trying to burn each other but ended up burning the statue of the Queen of Heart. Riddle probably had the first year’s head chop off by now. He was still fuming, face red in anger, and in a very bad mood when Azul passed by him.

What interested him wasn’t the first year, or the fact that the cat that he, along with Riddle and Jonah Agrentum, got rid of last night was back _(that persistence little fellow~)_ , but what others had said about someone else who got caught in the fight. Someone with an eye-patch was trying to stop the fight but failed. _Could it be…?_

“Hey, Azul.” Azul turned to Jade who was walking beside him. “That’s the kid. The one from the fight.”

“Heh~” Floyd peeked from over Azul’s shoulder. “He’s so tiny… Like a shrimp! Or a baby seal!”

_Well, well… It looked like his guess was right._

He walked toward the boy who was busy sweeping the courtyard, a pile of leaves not far from him. Jade and Floyd sounded confused behind him, but he didn’t care whether they follow him or not. The point was, the peculiar kid has returned. Or maybe hadn’t left at all.

"Mister Argentum,” he called him. The smaller boy looked up from the ground.

"Senior Ashengrotto," he said with a smile and nodded. "Good day."

Azul nodded back. "Are you visiting us again? Didn't the Dark Mirror send you back home last night?"

Argentum cringed, earning a raised eyebrow from Azul. "My situation is... Kinda complicated,” he said, tone rising and falling which reminded Azul of a kid who tried to hide something from their parents. “I'll be staying here for a while until we find a way to go back home."

Azul had already guessed that the boy stayed last night here, _but to stay?_ He did not expect that. "Oh? What happened actually?"

Argentum shrugged sadly. "I… Don’t understand it myself. I can’t seem to remember where I came from. It’s like something blocking my memories."

 _Amnesia?_ Well, Azul certainly didn’t expect this. _How interesting…_ "Is there anything I can help you with your situation?" he asked.

Argentum shook his head, offering him a small smile. "Probably not right now."

“Then how about a room to stay?” Azul offered. “We have a spare dorm room at Octavinelle.”

Once again, Argentum shook his head. “Oh, there’s no need. I’m currently staying in the old abandoned dorm?"

Azul blinked in surprise. “The Ramshackle Dorm? Isn’t there unlivable?”

“Maybe after I do a few cleaning. Probably tomorrow though…” He let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t seem to like his situation and Azul kind of understand it. The Ramshackle Dorm was on the edge of collapsing. One broken wood and the entire building could fall. He didn’t know what the headmaster was thinking when he put this tiny child in a dangerous area.

“Can’t believe I have to clean a thousand windows too…” He heard Argentum muttered under his breath.

“Oh?”

He rolled his eyes. “It was Grim’s fault.”

“Ah, was it about the burnt Queen of Hearts statue?” Azul guessed. And he was correct because Argentum's face suddenly became pale.

“You knew?” he asked with a small voice.

Azul held back a laugh. “Everyone is talking about it. Quite a fight you caught into.”

Argentum groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. “Sweet Nebula…” He let out a sigh again. “I hope Grim finishes the scrubbing the statue already…”

Azul watched him finishing his job, sweeping the leaves into a trash bag, before tying it and throwing it into the trashcan. “I need to check on that raccoon. I hope he hasn’t run away yet.”

Azul chuckled. “A troublesome little cat, isn’t he?”

Argentum rolled his eyes, but he managed to pull up a small smile. “More like a demon-raccoon.” He turned to Azul. “It’s nice to meet you again, Senior Ashengrotto.”

Azul nodded again. “Call me Azul, Mister Argentum.”

The boy chuckled. “Then you can call me Jonah. Argentum sounds too long.”

Azul slightly shook his head in amusement. “Alright then, Mister Jonah.”

Jonah nodded as a farewell greeting before walking away from him. Azul watched him walk, slowly disappearing between the passing student. He heard a couple of footsteps walking toward him, stopping next to him on each side.

“Heh… You seem close to him, Azul…” He felt Floyd rested his elbow on his shoulder.

“Is he the same kid you told us about yesterday?” Jade asked. "The one from the Entrance Ceremony?"

“Yes…” Azul smiled, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Jade, Floyd. We’ll be closing Monstro Lounge early today.” He heard Jade and Floyd let out some confused noises, obviously questioning Azul’s decision. The first day of school should be a great time to open the lounge until late at night.

But Azul just smiled at them as he turned his heal and headed toward his next class. “We have a dorm to clean and repair.” 

* * *

“I’m already beat from cleaning all day...” Grim groaned, flopping to an empty cafeteria table. “Now we have to clean one hundred windows, too...”

Jonah sat in front of him, massaging his bandaged hand as he rolled his eyes. After that chaos that was the burning of the Great Seven statue, Crowley took him to the infirmary, saying that if a small wound could heal naturally, they didn’t need to use magic. Jonah agreed on that, already feeling guilty because the headmaster wasted his time for him. After that, he told them to continue with their job, Jonah with the sweeping and Grim cleaning the statue. They finally managed to finish the job right before the last bell rang. Now, they were waiting in the cafeteria for the headmaster and Ace to come.

"It’s not like we can do anything about it,” he muttered. “This is all you guys' fault after all.”

Grim heard it. Jonah wasn’t trying to hide it. The raccoon turned toward him, face pissed and tail up. “Hey! He started first!”

Jonah turned to glare at him. “But you attacked first because of your short-temper. Both sides are at fault here.”

Grim crossed his paws in front of his chest, sitting on the table as he pouted. “Hmmph! Where is that Ace guy? How dare he make me wait like this!”

Jonah looked around the cafeteria. Students were walking in and out of the cafeteria, bringing books or snacks they just bought. “We don’t know how long his class. Give him time. He’ll show up soon,” he said, absentmindedly playing with his bandage.

_And thus they waited…_

* * *

_The cafeteria was already empty…_

_But there wasn’t any sign of Ace._

“That’s it!” Grim shouted, standing up, paws curled into tiny fists, the flames in his ears were burning hot. “I swear if he bailed on us-”

Jonah sighed. He slammed his hands to the table as he stood up, cutting whatever Grim was trying to way. “Look. This is why we get into so much trouble.” He grabbed the raccoon by his neck, bringing their face together as he glared at him, saying with a low, threatening voice. “Control yourself or else I’m going to strangle you! Understand?”

Grim was silent for a moment, probably didn’t know the correct way to react. Jonah surprised himself too. He didn’t what got into him, but with was probably because of tiredness and just plain annoyed with this devil-raccoon.

Grim finally found his voice again, huffing in defeat. “Fine.”

“Good.” Jonah dropped Grim onto the table. “Come on, let’s go find him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday midterm really drained me yesterday, that’s why I couldn’t post anything yesterday. However, I think I can do a double update today, if not then on Saturday. I will be busy in these three days, but I still hope I can still update.
> 
> Yeah, this is a filler chapter. So I spoiled myself with some Chapter 3 translation and I have a newfound respect for Azul. I always love that seductive, know-it-all, businessman type. He's giving me Kyuubey vibe with his contracts. I already planned this before, because since Azul has 'minions', he could easily command them to clean the Ramshackle Dorm. Originally this was supposed to take place during Riddle's Arc, but I also planned another filler chapter during that arc, so I was like "You know what? We need to clean this dorm as soon as possible." So, maybe I should write one filler episode per arc? Eh, we'll see.  
> The title is from a lyric in “For Your Entertainment” by Adam Lambert, it's Azul's Character Song in the Proud Hufflepuff playlist.


	10. Escape from a Hundred Broken Windows! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've only known Deuce for a half chapter, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

“Yeah, right. There is no way I’m cleaning a hundred windows,” Ace grumbled. “I’m going back.”

After class, Ace made sure to take the long way trip back to the Hall of Mirror, purposely avoiding the cafeteria and missing the headmaster and the other two. _Like, really?_ _A hundred window for burning an old statue. Well, the Queen of Heart the symbol of his dorm, but still! A hundred window for a burnt statue? That’s too much and unfair! It was the cat’s fault after all, for attacking him first and took his joke seriously. He was defending himself in his part, so he was supposed to be innocent!_

“HEYYYYY!”

Ace jumped in his step. When he glanced back, he saw the cat flying toward him, followed by the twerp with an eye-patch. “Shit, they had found me!” Ace muttered as he took off in running down the hall. _There is no way he would let himself get caught! It wasn’t his fault!_

* * *

Deuce was walking down the pathway to the Hall of Mirrors, his bag slung over his shoulder. So far, the first day went well. Most of the class were introductions and he could keep up with his notes. And he didn’t have the urge to punch anybody in the face, so that was a really good sign.

“Jerk! Hold up! I won’t let you be the only one getting out of this!”

“Leave me alone! I have no time for this!”

“Running off by yourself isn’t fair! I wanna skip too!”

“Hmm?” Deuce looked behind him and saw someone running straight down the hall with no intention of stopping. The kid, a fellow Heartslabyul was shouting at him.

“Get out of the way!”

“Huh!? Uh, uhhh!?” Deuce nearly tripped his foot when he pressed his back to the wall, giving the kid a path and avoided being trampled.

“Someone stop that boy!” A demon-cat flew past him. _Hey, wait a minute! That was the cat from the entrance ceremony! It’s still here?!_

“What’s going on?” He tried to shout to the cat. He didn’t answer, but a boy with an eye-patch managed to skid to a stop and turned toward him.

“That kid tried to escape his punishment!” he shouted, pointing to the kid being chased by the demon-cat.

_Escape from punishment?! Is he a delinquent too?! No! He won’t let him get away like that. Maybe he could use magic to stop him- That’s it!_

“Let me help!” he said to the eye-patch kid, grabbing his upper arm before he could take off again. “I know magic.”

“Well, hurry up then!” the kid snapped at him.

That was the only boost that he needs. He took out his magical pen, pointing straight to the running kid. Underneath him and the kid, a red magic circle appeared. He pulled his pen up, moving the magic circle to above the kid’s head and he shouted. “ ** _[COME OUT]_**! **_[SOMETHING HEAVY]_**!”

Something heavy did come out. A giant cauldron suddenly slid out from the magic circle above the kid, and fell on top of him, the sound of _*bang!*_ echoed down the hallway. Deuce and the eye-patch kid visibly winched. He didn’t think he would summon a cauldron. _Was that the heaviest thing he could think of?_

“The hell is this!?” shouted the kid, trying to get out from underneath the cauldron, like a cockroach under a spoon. “A pot!?”

The demon-cat was laughing out loud. “Gyahahaha! Look at that, Jonah!” he said as he landed on the boy’s butt. “Ace got squashed under a giant pot! How lame!”

“Ow, ow, ow...” The Ace kid groaned. He turned behind him, glaring at the demon-cat. The eye-patch boy, Jonah, walked toward the cauldron. Deuce was hesitant to make it disappeared. He couldn’t let a runaway go before knowing the situation before.

“Can’t you just quickly clean those hundred windows yourselves?” Ace, grumbled as Jonah stepped in front of him.

“It’s your fault too you know,” Jonah said, crouching in front of Ace's face. “And it’s the headmaster’s order, so no escaping this.”

“What did you guys do?” Deuce asked, standing next to Jonah.

Ace pouted. “When I was messing around with that furball over there this morning, the statue of the Queen of Hearts got a tiny bit burnt.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. “Tiny? More like burnt to the crisp!”

“So you’re the one everyone is talking about!” Deuce shouted, taking a step back, pointing at Ace and Jonah accusingly. “That punishment is fitting for you.” He sighed as he massaged his temple. “You just got enrolled in this prestigious school... What are you going around doing on the first day...?”

Ace didn’t respond right away, still pouting, probably rethink his action. _Good. Troublemakers like him should get what he deserves._ He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, whatever. Anyway, who’re you?”

Deuce crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m Deuce. Deuce Spade,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Why don’t you try to remember the faces of your classmates, Mister…”

…

…

He started to tap his finger on his arms, brow furrowed, thinking hard. “Um...”

The two other kids were watching him, exchanging questioning glances at each other, waiting for his response.

…

…

_What was his last name again?_

“You don’t remember mine either!” Ace shouted, pointing at him accusingly. _Dammit, he didn’t have state the obvious!_

Deuce cleared his throat. “A-anyway! Since this is an order from the headmaster, you’re going to have to do it seriously.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know...”

Deuce nodded, satisfied. He waved his magical pen and the cauldron disappeared in a puff of white smoke. "Alright, let’s get on with it then." Jonah sighed in relief. He pulled his hand out, offering Ace a help to get up, but the kid just slapped it away. _Rude._

Ace finally got up, a bit wobbly, but stood his ground. “Let’s just get this over it.”

Jonah sighed. “Finally. The headmaster is probably waiting for us at the cafeteria. So, let’s go, Grim- Eh?”

Jonah stopped his tracks, looking around the hallway. Deuce and Ace looked around too. They were alone there.

Deuce watched Jonah’s hands curled up into a fist. “That raccoon ditched us!” he shouted, making Ace and Deuce jumped back slightly. Without really explaining anything, the kid took off, running down the hallway away from the Hall of Mirrors.

Ace was the first one to catch up to Jonah, looking around with widened eyes. “Damn it! He took my place!” He turned to Deuce. “Oi! Er, what’s-your-face, Juice?”

“Wha—it’s not Juice. It’s Deuce! Deuce!”

“It’s your fault for distracting us and let that furball getaway!”

“Why do I have to do it!?”

“Because that Jonah kid can’t use magic! Now c’mon!”

Ace suddenly grabbed Deuce's arm and pulled him into the chase. _Damn it! Why does trouble seem to always find a way to enter his life?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I can do a double update today after my midterm this morning. Just wait, I hope.  
> Out of the trio, I love Deuce more than Ace. He’s such a good boy. And his cauldron power never stop making me laugh.  
> We have the Golden Trio of our generation! Let the chaos ensue…


	11. Careless Tactics! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Deuce caused more trouble rather than fixing it.  
> jonah.exe has stopped working.

"Grim! You better get down this instance before I smack you!”

Ace and Deuce finally caught up with Jonah in the empty cafeteria. Ace was secretly relieved that the headmaster wasn’t here yet. Grim was sitting on the chandelier, blowing a raspberry at the shouting boy bellow him.

“Hehehe! Catch me if ya can!”

The two Heartslabyul students ran beside Jonah. “Hah! Climbing up there just makes you a loser!” yelled Ace. That only made Grim riled up again.

“I’ll show you who the real loser is!” A magic circle appeared under his feet and then blew a fireball toward him.

“Look out!” Deuce acted quickly, pushing Ace down to the ground. While Jonah jumped away, never stop glaring at the cat.

“Are you trying to burn down the school?!” he screamed. “You are not doing yourself a good favor!”

“I’m trying to burn that chicken butt!” Grim screamed back.

Ace growled underneath him. “Why you…” He tried to get up, but Deuce had no intention to get up just yet. He was mumbling to himself in a low voice, lost in his thought. Ace could imagine streams of scribbles came out from his mouth.

“I still haven’t learned flying magic without broom yet… Maybe something to sandwich him between, or to catch him... erm, maybe, hmm...”

Finally, Ace had enough. “Dude! Get off of me!” he yelled, snapping Deuce from his thinking process. His eyes widened as if a light bulb just lit up in his head.

“That’s it!” Deuce quickly got up and took up his magical pen. _Ugh, great. He would probably summon his stupid pot._ Ace got up, dusting himself. When he looked up, he saw Deuce was pointing his magical pen _AT HIM_?!

“O-Oi! What are you doing?!” Ace was panicking as a red magic circle appeared underneath their shoes.

“I’m going to shoot you there!” he said, focusing his magic energy into this one spell.

Behind him, Jonah looked toward him, eyes widened and face paling. “Excuse me?! Please don’t-”

“Too late!” Deuce cut him off. “ ** _[SHOOT OUT]_**! **_[CAULDRON]_**!"

“Cauldron?!” It was too late for Ace to realize it. A cauldron suddenly shot out from beneath him, the boy clutching the handle like his life depends on it. His screams filled the room as he and the cauldron flew toward Grim, whose eyes widened so wide.

_There was one problem though…_

Deuce shot the cauldron too hard. With Ace as its extra weight, even though they managed to catch Grim in there, they couldn’t avoid the chandelier…

_*crash!*_

The cauldron smashed through the chandelier, bits came flying in the air that Ace needed to cover his face with his arm. The handle of the chandelier broke from the sudden attack and it went falling to the ground. Deuce, in his state of panic, pulled Jonah, who was in shock, away from the falling chandelier. Too hard that both of them fell to the ground, Deuce shielding Jonah from the bits.

The cauldron meanwhile smashed to the wall, disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. Grim’s face smashed to the wall and squeezed between it and Ace's stomach. Without anything to support them both of them fell to the ground with a loud _*thud!*_

“Unbelievable…” Ace groaned out as he lifted himself in a sitting position. Beside him, Grim’s eyes made a swirl, mumbling nonsense.

Deuce slowly took himself up from Jonah. Both of them stared at the broken chandelier on top of the cracked tables. Deuce and Ace slowly got up, while both Jonah and Grim stayed on the ground, both malfunctioning, unable to respond.

“C-Crap! I wasn't thinking about where you'd land...” Deuce mumbled.

Ace was fuming. He was sore all over but couldn’t contain his anger anymore. “You...” He took a quick stride toward Deuce, grabbing his collar, brought his face closer, and screamed into his face. “You IDIOT! If the headmaster finds out you busted the chandelier-”

“You did what?”

Ace and Deuce froze. A curse word came out from Ace's mouth and he slowly lessens his grip from Deuce collar, turning around at the shocked headmaster.

“What... in... the... world... ARE YOU CHILDREN DOING!?” he shouted, making Ace and Deuce winched. Crowley looked around, noticing Grim and Jonah on the floor. He turned to Ace and Deuce who stood side-by-side. “Another one? Really? As if damaging one of the stone statues wasn't enough, now you've gone and destroyed the chandelier!?”

“Grim started it, Headmaster!” Ace tried to the reason, but the headmaster raised his hand, silencing him.

He massaged his temple. “I am no longer going to tolerate this. All of you are expelled!”

Ace and Deuce's eyes widened. _No. This can't be happening... He just... He can't get expelled... Only after his first day, he might add!_

“No! Please, could you forgive us just this once?” Deuce plead, taking a step forward. “I have something I need to do at this school!”

“You can blame yourself for behaving like a fool,” he said. “Why did you even join their idiocy in the first place?”

“I'll do anything to make it up if it would just get you to forgive me!”

Crowley shook his head. “This chandelier was no ordinary chandelier.” He turned toward the damages. “This was an enchanted chandelier! It was powered by magic, and its candles were never supposed to burn out for all of eternity!”

He noticed Jonah still on the floor and now that Ace thought about it, the boy hadn’t moved an inch. _Did he get hurt? Damn it._ He couldn’t live he accidentally hurt someone. The headmaster sighed and walked toward the boy. “Get up, Mister Argentum,” he said, gently grasping the boy’s arm, lifting him. Jonah just followed him as he being guided to stand next to Ace and Deuce.

“You can’t pay the damage,” Crowley continued, gaining Ace and Deuce’s attention. “That chandelier was a masterpiece crafted by a magical artifact master of old. It had been carefully passed down ever since this academy was founded... Considering its historical value, it would be worth no less than one billion madols.”

_O-One billion...!? It was that valuable?! Even his pocket money from kindergarten to college wouldn’t make it up for that!_

“No way…” Deuce whispered in shock.

“B-But, can't you just fix it up quick with your magic, Headmaster...?” asked Ace.

“Magic is not all-powerful.” Crowley shook his head again. “What's more, the magic stone, which could otherwise be called the heart of the magical artifact, has broken. No two magic stones are the same. This chandelier might not be able to light up again.”

“No...” Ace gasped out.

“Damn it...” Deuce looked down to his shoes, fists clenched and trembling. “What was I doing...? How am I going to tell Mom...?”

Crowley looked at the three frustrated, miserable, silent children. He didn’t want to do this. A kind headmaster wouldn’t just throw his student out! But he couldn’t take it. It was only the first day, the second day if you count the Entrance Ceremony, and these children, especially the mysterious one, created even more chaos than one could imagine in their early school years.

“If magic couldn’t fix it, we’re going to need a miracle,” Ace muttered, running his hand through his hair.

_Miracle… Oh._

“There is one thing.”

“What!?” Both students looked up to him with disbelieve. There was a way for them to fix everything? There was a way for them to stay in school!

“The magic stone that was used in this chandelier can be mined at the Dwarfs' Mine,” Crowley said, tapping his chin. “If you were to obtain a stone that had the same properties, it might be possible to repair it. However, I'm not certain there are any magic stones left in the mines. It's been quite some time since it closed, so there's a high chance all the magic stones have already been dug up.”

Ace and Deuce exchanged looks. _There was a solution! Even if it was a small chance, it was the only option they had!_

“I'll go get the magic stone!” Deuce exclaimed, eyes burning with determination. “Please let me go! I'll do anything if it means I won't have to be expelled!”

Crowley nodded. He already guessed that they would accept the challenge, even if it was impossible. “...Very well. Then I will wait only one night. If you do not bring me a magic stone by tomorrow morning, you all will be expelled. You can get to the Dwarfs' Mine in an instant if you use the gate in the Mirror Chamber.”

“Right...!” Deuce bowed to the headmaster. “Thank you!”

“Ah, geez...” Ace rubbed behind his neck. “Guess I got no choice. Alright, let's go get that magic stone.”

And after all that, Jonah didn’t say a thing. 

* * *

“Ah, man...” Grim grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and the four of them stood in the Mirror Chamber, Jonah carrying him under his arm. ”Why do I ended up like this?”

“We don't have time to stand here and complain! Let's go!” said Deuce. He took out his magical pen and pointed it at the mirror. “ ** _[Magic mirror on the wall]_**! **_[To the Dwarfs' Mine, take us all]_**!”

Green smoke slowly came out from the mirror, surrounding the children as they huddled closer. The smoke covered them from the head to toes. When a gentle breeze flew in, blowing the green smoke away, the children were nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh… I fell asleep again. Sorry. I knew it was a bad idea to write this while in a bed. I’ll try see if I can lump two or three more chapters in one after this since we’re reaching our climax. Finally, we’ve gone a long way.
> 
> Yep. We’re officially the Golden Trio of this generation. Causing trouble wherever we goes. I wonder which one of us will be the third wheel in the party.


	12. Selfishness in a Tough Spot! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now, if you three don't mind, I'm going to the Dwarf’s Mine to fix this before either of you make another mess that can get us killed or worse… expelled!”  
> – Deuce Spade, current mood

The wood was silent at that time. Not even the sound of an owl could be heard. The entrance Dwarfs’ Mine was dark and cold. The ratty wooden bridge that connected the mine to the Silent Wood was on the verge of collapsing. There was only a little water in the river and even the waterfall didn’t sound that loud.

Green gas suddenly came out on the ground in front of the Dwarfs’ Mine’s entrance. As more and more smoke came out, it swirled into a small tornado. When a wind blew, the smoke disappeared, revealing three children and a cat.

“This is the Dwarfs’ Mine,” Deuce said, announcing their presence to the wood. The other three followed Deuce’s gaze, looking at the dark cave in front of them. “Long ago, this place seemed to be a bustling place to mine for magic stones.”

Grim shivered. He got himself out from Jonah’s hand and hid behind the boy’s back. “Y-You wanna go into that pitch-black cave!?”

“What, ya scared?” Ace taunted, grinning at the cat.

“What!? I-I’m not scared!” Grim snapped, flying in front of the gang. “Since I’m so great, I’ll be the leader! All of you, follow me!”

Ace snickered, Deuce rolled his eyes, while Jonah didn’t really say anything. In the end, the three of them followed Grim inside the mine. It was dirty, not surprisingly. There were spider webs on the ceilings and between the woods and wall. They could hear water dripping, echoing in the quiet tunnel.

Grim was flying slow, clearly afraid. But they didn’t have time to slow down and Deuce couldn’t take this snail-speed search. “Let’s keep going,” he said, shoving Grim behind him, making him in the lead. “We don’t have much time.”

Ace huffed, folding his hand behind his head. “I’d rather you not be actin’ all tough and ordering me around,” he said, rolling his eyes. “This never would’ve happened in the first place if you weren’t acting like an idiot.”

Deuce stopped his track, making Grim bumped into him. “If we’re going down that route.” He spun around, stepping closer to Ace and glaring at him. “You’re the one who started this for skipping out on cleaning!”

Ace glared back. “Okay, well, this furball over here is the one who burned the statue of the Queen of Hearts first!” He pointed accusingly at Grim.

Grim, of course, took the bait, flying toward them, smoke coming out from his ears, forehead-to-forehead with Ace. “You were making fun of me first, so that was your fault!”

“Guys! Do you know the situation we’re in right now?” Deuce yelled, pushing the two away from each other. “We’re going to get expelled if we don’t bring back a magic stone by morning!”

Ace pushed down Deuce's hand from his chest. “So, stop patronizing me! It’s really ticking me off!”

Deuce was about to say another comeback when a voice stopped him and all the others’ arguments.

**_“NoT... gIvE... Nn... nOt...”_ **

All of them froze in place. Ace was the first one to respond, voice softer than before. “W-Who… said that?”

**_“StOnE… uUuUuUu… MiNe…”_ **

The children took steps back, their backs pressed against each other. More like Ace and Deuce squeezing Jonah and Grim between their backs.

“It kinda… sounds like it’s getting closer…” Ace whispered again, his eyes darting from one corner to another.

**_“StOnE… iS MiIiInE!”_ **

Something unimaginable appeared. From the shadow, emerged a figure. It had a head made out of glass, shaped like a bottle, black ink spilling from its teeth like cracks. It had a plump body, gooey arms with long tentacle-like fingers. Its right hand as holding a purple lantern while the right one had a giant pickaxe. Its bottom part was just slime as its feet. It wore a red coat with golden buttons and a small elf-like hat on top of its glass head.

“A MONSTEEEER!” Ace, Deuce, and Grim shouted. Ace quickly grabbed Jonah’s hand and pulled him, running away from the monster.

“What was that!?” Deuce shouted.

“WAHHHH!” Grim cried, flying in front of the three boys. “No one said anything about that being here! Let’s get out of here!”

Ace kept pulling Jonah with him. He then realized something. “Wait! Didn’t it say something about the stone!?”

“What!?” Grim and Deuce yelled and all of them stopped their tracks, looking at the approaching monster behind them.

**_“StOnE… sToNe… NoT GiVe…!”_ **

All of them gasped. “So there’s still a magic stone here!” exclaimed Deuce.

“N-N-N-N-No way!” Grim shook his head rapidly. “I may be a genius, but there’s no way we’ll win against that!”

“But if we don’t bring back the magic stone, we’ll be expelled…” Deuce looked at the three of them with a determined face before standing between them and the monster. “I’m going!”

“Are you serious!?” Ace yelled at him.

“There is no way I’m going to let myself get expelled!” Deuce screamed, running toward the monster and he held out his magical pen, magic circles appeared in every step he took. However, before he could release any spell, the monster roared at him. It raised its lantern and smacked Deuce in the face, sending him smashing into a wall with a “Guuuuuehh!”

**_“LeAvE! lEaVe! LeEeEeAaAvE!”_ **

Ace growled. “Stand back if you have no control, Mr. Serious! I’ll stop it!” He pushed Jonah behind him as he took out his magical pen, swinging it and sending a gush of wind toward the monster. “Haaa!”

It didn’t affect the monster at all. It raised its pickaxe and smashed it to the ground, sending earthquake and debris toward the boy. Ace eyes widened. He pushed Jonah out of the way to the ground before he waved his wand again, sending the debris back. The monster smacked back at the counterattack. It raised its right fist and punched Ace in the face. The boy was flying to the air until his back smacked a wooden pole, a cry of “Guuhaah!” escaped his mouth.

Grim looked at the three fallen students in fear. “Ffgnaaa! Stay away!” he screamed in terror, a wide magic circle appeared underneath him and the monster. He raised his fist, calling a pillar of blue flame. But even after the flame died, it didn’t even leave a burn mark on the monster.

“It’s not working at all!” Grim screamed. “Let’s get out of here! We’re done for at this rate!”

Deuce and Ace slowly got up from their fallen position. Both of them were sore from the attacks. The demon-cat was right. There was no way they could defeat that thing now. They needed to retreat.

Grim was the first one to run away, flying to the exit. Ace followed him. Deuce was the last, pulling Jonah up to his feet as both of them run while still holding each other's hand.

 ** _“GgGuUuUuUhHhHh! WoN’T GiVe!”_**

* * *

The three children plus one cat ran as fast and far as they could, running through the rickety old bridge and passing the stream until they finally stopped in front of an old abandoned cottage. But they didn’t pay any attention to it for they were too busy panting from the adrenaline rush.

“Is this far enough?” Grim panted out, his feet on the ground because he didn’t even have the energy left to fly.

Ace looked back, sighing loudly when he couldn’t even see the mine from where they are standing. “Ow… What in the world was that?” he asked, rubbing the back of his sore neck. “No one said anything about that!”

“It didn’t seem like an ordinary ghost,” Deuce said, hands on his still aching stomach.

Ace let out a frustrated growl. “Let’s just give up and go home. I’d rather get expelled that fight that thing.”

Deuce eyes widened at him. “Wha-?! Don’t screw with me! I’d rather die than face expulsion! There’s a magic crystal right in front of us and you want to go home?!”

Ace sneered at him. “Ha! You talk big for someone worse at magic than me,” he taunted, lips pulled into a smirk. “Fine then, go on your own. I’m out.”

“Ooh, is that so?” Deuce took a quick stride toward Ace, grabbing Ace collar and slightly lifting him up the ground, which surprised Ace that Deuce can do that despite their almost equal height. He had this strange look on his face, almost feral. “Then you can stay right here like a coward you are!”

“Uhh… Deuce?” Grim called, flying behind the blunette. “Did you just change personality?”

Deuce seemed to snap back. He lowered Ace so the other boy could stand on the ground again. “Sorry,” he said, letting go of Ace’s collar. “I lost my composure a bit.” He stepped back a little before clearing this throat. “Anyway, I’m going back in there,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’ll figure out something to beat that thing and come back with a magic crystal.”

Ace snorted, clearly wasn’t afraid anymore of the other boy’s sudden change in personality. “Yeah… But an idiot like you would probably fail. Just like the chandelier incident.” He put both hands on his hips, leaning his face toward Deuce, smirking. “You can’t even land a blow and you will ‘figure it out’? It’ll end the same.”

Deuce growled at him, fists trembling. “Come again?! You think of-”

“EVERYBODY, SHUT UP!”

Everyone jumped at the sudden scream. Jonah stood there, hands curled up into trembling fists and chest rising and falling as if trying to control his breathing. He was glaring at the two of them and all of them could see his right eye, his strange eye, for his eye-patch had fallen probably from the monster attack. They were surprised at the strange appearance and sudden shouting because the other two boys didn’t dare to respond. But Grim was clearly not. “Why are you shouting-”

His glared turned to the demon-cat, making his fur stood up. “No. No!” the boy snapped, raising his finger at Grim. ”All of you will let me speak. For one minute, just listen to me!”

He gestured to all of them. “See this? All of this happened because of all of us! Everyone is at fault here!” He pointed at Ace. “Ace here can’t keep his mouth shut, trash-talking all he wants without thinking about others.” Ace himself was about to retort, but Jonah’s glare silencing him.

“Deuce!” The blunette flinched when his name was called. “You want to help, yes, but you are too spontaneous, without planning or thinking about the aftereffect.” Deuce looked down at his shoes.

Jonah turned his head to Grim. The cat loudly gulped. “Grim here is too prideful for his own good.” He grabbed Grim by the neck, threatening to squeeze it. “Acting high-almighty but in the end just burn everything when you don’t get your way!” Jonah let go of Grim, the cat coughing from the sudden attack.

“Even me!” He looked down, fists still trembling along with his voice. "It’s my fault too! I could’ve stopped this! I could’ve tried harder to stop Grim and Ace’s fight! I could’ve stopped Deuce from launching that cauldron! Heck, I could’ve said something when the headmaster threatens to expel you! But no! I kept my mouth shut like an idiot!”

His hand reached his mouth, squeezing it hard as if trying so hard not to cry. Ace and Deuce exchanged a glance. They never realized how much pressure they had caused on the boy, or maybe on each other. It was true that they were only thinking for themselves, acting the way they thought it was right, but ended up causing more harm than good.

Jonah took a deep breath and let it all out. “Sorry.” His voice sounded smaller than his previous shouting as if all of his energy left him. “I just… I’m tired, okay?” He rubbed his good, frustrated why he snapped like that.

Deuce took a deep breath and approached Jonah. “It's…” He hesitantly put a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder, earning a flinch from Jonah. “It’s alright…” He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. We’ve dragged you into this too.”

Jonah shook his head. “Well, I shouldn’t have lost my temper there.”

Deuce nodded. “Then… What are we supposed to do?”

Jonah looked up to Deuce. “Will you listen to me?”

Deuce didn’t hesitate to nod. He glanced at Ace and Grim. Both of them exchanged a glance, probably still stunned from the sudden outburst from Jonah. But in the end, they nodded, Jonah looked between the three of them, looking for a sign that they were just joking. He didn’t find it, so he nodded. “Alright.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m suggesting a compromise. Before anyone protests, just think about it. Do you really want to get expelled on your first day of school?”

Ace closed his mouth again. He finally sighed. “Ugh, that’s… Fine,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head. “We just have to get it done, right?”

Jonah nodded. This time Ace pulled out a small grin. “Alright. What’s the plan?”

Jonah himself managed to grin. “I do have one idea…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a double update! And a longer chapter because I’m kind~  
> We’re reaching the end of the prologue, maybe two or three more chapters but we’ll see.  
> I cut so many things from the Dwarfs’ Mine adventure, like visiting the dwarves’ cottage and battling the ghost. I mostly just want to get this prologue done as fast as I can, and most that I’ve skipped is filler anyway.  
> Writing Jonah’s snapping moment felt so great. The tired boy finally standing up.


	13. United Front Blockade! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How this chapter should've started:  
> JONAH: Come on, Grim! You have to create a diversion.  
> GRIM: What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?!  
> (Drumbeats)  
> GRIM, in a hula skirt: Luau!

“Hey, beasty!”

Grim’s voice echoed through the tunnel, tail wagging in the air in both fear and determination. The cat could hear another growl from the deeper part which made him shivered. But he couldn’t stop, the others are counting at him.

“O-o-o-over here!” he called out again. “Have a delicious cat as a snack~!”

**_“GrRrRrR… LeAaAaAaAaAaAvVeE!”_ **

The monster appeared from the shadow, groaning and growling as it started to fly toward him. All of Grim’s fur shot up. “Gah! It's coming!” he shouted, quickly turning around and flew to the entrance. The monster kept advancing toward him, smacking everything in its way, right claw tried to grab Grim who kept avoiding it.

**_“gRrR!? ThErE.. ThIeF... tOo. WoN'T GiVe ... mInE... mInE! gO AwAy! Go aWaY!”_ **

Grim shot out through the tunnel. “We're out!” he shouted.

Jonah who stood in front of the entrance nodded quickly at him. “On your position.” Grim quickly flew to the right, across him Ace prepared his magical pen, magic circle already appeared under him. Grim also raised his paws, summoning his magic circle.

Jonah raised his hand slowly, glaring at the entrance, counting down in his head. When the monster came out, screaming in his face, he jumped back. “Ace, Grim, combo attack!”

“Ok, I got this!” He pointed his magical pen toward the monster. “Let's go, **_[EXTRA LARGE TEMPEST]_**!” A cycle of cyclone shot out from his magical pen, trapping the monster in his tornado. The monsters screamed, but unable to escape from the trapping wind.

“And the Great Grim's **_[FIRE SPECIAL]_**! Ffgnnnaaaaa!” Grim spit out his fire, burning the monster, changing the ordinary tornado into a cyclone of an inferno.

**_“gUaAaAhH!?”_ **

Jonah landed not far, kneeling to the ground. He looked up to Deuce who was standing on top of the cave. “Deuce, launch the cannon!”

Deuce nodded at him. He held his magical pen in both hands, the magic circle appeared in front of him and bellow his feet. His eyes slipped close. “Calm down... Aim...” he whispered to himself. “The biggest, heaviest... thing I know...” He snapped his eyes opened and screamed, “ ** _[COME FORTH]_**! **_[CAULDRON]_**!”

A cauldron shot out from the magic circle, hitting the monster square on the back, sending it flying away, crashing to the bridge, destroying it, and fell to the river.

**_“gUaAa!?”_ **

“Hah!” Grim laughed as the gang gathered again. “I bet it's flat as a pancake just like Ace!”

Ace groaned. “You don't need to bring that up again! Jeez, today just isn't my day.”

“Guys, let's get the crystal while it's stunned!” Jonah yelled. The others nodded and immediately ran into the mine again.

In the river, the monster got up, floating, its sight set on the running children.

 ** _“WaAaAaAiItTt!”_**

* * *

The gang ran deep into the mine, eyes darting in every corner, looking for anything sparkling. Deuce was the first one to notice. “There! A magic crystal!” he shouted, pointing at one sparkle on the wall. All of them made a mad dash toward him. Jonah, picked up the closest thing he could grab, a chisel, and started to pick the stone from the wall.

**_“HaNdS OoOoOoOoOfFfF!”_ **

Ace, Deuce, and Grim looked at the entrance, the monster had already stepped in the mine again.

“Shit!” Ace snapped. “That thing is back!”

Jonah let out a grunt and finally the magic crystal, glowing in a colorful light, dropped into his hand. “Yes!” He stood up, but let out a gasp when he saw the enemy is back. “Oh, shoot.”

“How are we supposed to get out now?” Grim yelled.

Jonah looked around, looking for a way to escape. There was only one way: the entrance. But the monster blocked the way. However, his eyes caught onto the woods supporting the mine. He glanced at Deuce. “Deuce, prepare your biggest cauldron to launch us!”

“R-Right!” Deuce held his magical pen tight, pointing to the ground below them.

“Grim, Ace, prepare the flame!” Jonah ordered him. Ace nodded preparing his magical pen again and Grim sucking up as much air as he could.

“Everybody, huddle closer!” Jonah pulled Grim and Ace closed, his back pressing onto Deuce’s chest.

“ ** _[COME OUT]_**! **_[CAULDRON]_**!” the blunette shouted, A gigantic cauldron, so big that all of them could fit inside it, appeared bellow him. Jonah glared at the monster, counting its floating.

_Wait…_

_Wait…_

**_“ThAt... Is... MiIiIiNnNeE!”_ **

_NOW!_

“Launch the cannon!”

“ ** _[FLY AWAY]_**!” Deuce pointed his magical pen forward, launching the cauldron forward like a rocket. All of them, except Jonah, screamed at the sudden speed. The monster kept flying toward them and the cauldron was shooting toward it!

When the monster barely passed a supporting wood-

“Fire, now!”

Ace managed to gain his focus again. “Roger!” he yelled as he shot out another tornado.

Grim followed him, spitting fire, mixing it with the wind. “Funa~!”

It was a humongous blaze, burning everything in its path, including the monster and the woods. Jonah pulled Ace and Grim down and Deuce held onto his shoulders, ducking into the cauldron and it hit the monster straight in the face, making it fell. The wood above it started to get burnt, and soon woods and rocks falling on top of the monster, not letting it escape from the unstoppable inferno.

**_“UuUh… uUuGhHh!”_ **

When the fire finally dies, it left nothing but ashes. 

* * *

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

The cauldron came flying passed the destroyed bridge, aiming straight to the forest. “Everyone braces yourself!” Jonah shouted as the cauldron hit the ground. They didn’t stop screaming, either was the tumbling cauldron. It kept rolling down the hill, banging along the way, the children inside it kept hitting each other. The cauldron finally rolled down the hill and crashed to a tree not far from the Dwarfs’ Cottage with a loud _*bang!*_ and _*crash!*_ , dust and smoke floating surrounded them.

Jonah coughed as he got out first. “Is... Is everyone alright?”

Ace groaned, crawling out of the cauldron with Grim on top of his head. “That's the second time I had a rough landing...” He laid on the ground. “I'm sore all over...”

The cauldron puffed out in a cloud of white smoke, leaving Deuce who was sitting on the ground, coughing from the mess. “But...” he said between his panting. “We... Did it... Right?

All of them paused, sinking in the realization. _They… They survived that._ Jonah looked at his hand, still gripping on the rainbow-colored magic crystal. Grim flew next to him, eyes widened in amazement. “W-we won…” he breathed out, before breaking into a huge grin. “We won!”

Ace jumped up, fist-pumped into the air. “We did it!”

Deuce followed him, smiling too wide that his cheeks hurt. “Hooray!”

“Victory high-five!” Grim raised his paw and Ace and Deuce didn’t waste the opportunity to hi-five while jumping for joy. “Yay!”

Jonah chuckled, getting up from his position and dusted himself. “Aw~ You guys are adorable,” he cooed.

The other boys and cat’s eyes widened, immediately distanced each other, all of them are blushing in embarrassment. “Ah. N-no,” Deuce denied, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is nothing like that!”

Ace crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting. “Y-yeah, yeah! Could you stop saying weird things?”

Grim put his paws on his hips, looking proud and embarrassed at the same time. “W-we won, thanks to my genius! It's not because we pooled our strength!”

Jonah just chuckled and shook his head. “Well, thank you for listening to me,” he said as he smiled. “You guys make a pretty good crew.”

Ace lowered his arm, a shade of pink still on his face. “I guess making excuses is pretty lame.” He grinned at Jonah, walking toward him and patting him on the shoulder. “I hate to admit it but we won thanks to your plan.”

Deuce nodded, agreeing to his dormmate. “True. We got the magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions. We can prevent our expulsion this way.” He let out a grateful smile. “I'm so relieved.”

Jonah grinned at them. “See? Working together is not that bad, is it?”

Ace chuckled as he rolled his eyes, the grin didn’t leave his face. “Yeah, yeah. We're all relieved. And seriously worn-out and battered. Let's go home.”

Grim nodded and let out a yawn. “I'm starving from using so much magic...” He turned around and looked down, noticing something weird down there. “Hmm? What's this?” He picked up something from the ground, bringing up for the three boys to see. It looked like a black-rock, maybe a lump of coal, but didn’t leave any black dust on Grim’s paws.

“Remnants from that monster?” Deuce suggested, in which Ace shrugged.

“A magic crystal..? But I've never seen one pitch-black like coal before,” the ginger-head responded.

Grim pressed the crystal to his nose, sniffing it. “This thing smells really good...” he muttered, closing his eyes, inhaling the sweet smell. “This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Don’t waste any food!”

“Grim, wait-”

Grim didn’t hear Jonah's warning at all. He opened his mouth with an “aaahhh~” and plucked the crystal into his mouth. The cat’s eyes widened, paws pressed on his mouth. “Gunnh!”

“Hey, you alright!?” Deuce asked in a panic, kneeling in front of the cat.

“Aah,” Ace sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “That's why you don't eat things off the ground!”

Jonah was ready to scold Grim, ready to squeeze him until he spits out that dirty rock and maybe beg for the headmaster to take him to a doctor, but then-

Grim eyes seemed to sparkle. “D...D-d-d-d-d... DELICIOUS!!” he yelled, jumping into the air.

“EH?!” the other three boys exclaimed in unison.

The background around Grim seemed to brighten up with sparkles. “It was full-bodied, but also rice, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth...” Paws on his blushing chubby cheeks as he blushed. “Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!”

Jonah sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You're... You're ridiculous...” he muttered shaking his head. “Don't come for help if you get a stomachache.”

Ace stuck out his tongue. “Blegh! Monsters do have different tastes than us.”

“Gahahaha!” Grim laughed, patting his stomach. “Tasty, tasty! Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours.”

Jonah and Ace made a face like they’re going to puke. Deuce was the first one to snap back, clearing his throat and trying not to gag. “Switching gears, let's get this magic crystal to the headmaster!”

“Right!” The other three gave him a nod. Deuce took out a small pocket mirror from his jacket. “ ** _[Magic Mirror, heed my call]_** ," he said, raising the mirror above his head as the other three huddled around him. “ ** _[To the Mirror Chamber, take us all]_**!”

Green smoke started to come out of the mirror and surrounded the children and cat-like a small tornado, taking the gang away from that place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent the whole day yesterday doing my assignment, so I didn’t have time to write anything. Well, I did prepare the dialogue, all it left was the description.  
> Since I have no class today, and I can continue to write the next chapter, which probably is the second to last chapter before we end the prologue.  
> Again. I’m not good at writing the fighting scene, so apology for this chapter. It sounded more dramatic in my imagination.


	14. Miracle of Reconsideration! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The headmaster has decided!

Crowley couldn’t believe it. He didn’t think that these children would do it. He thought when he said that the mine was closed and there weren’t any magic stone left, he thought the children would just give up and accept their fate. He had already completed the paperwork for their expulsion, all the documents were kept save in his drawer. But when the three children and the cat came barging into his office with smiles and grins decorated their face, Crowley knew that they _did it_.

“Hoh hoohh… A mysterious monster living in the coal mine,” the headmaster stated, his gloved finger playing with the magic crystal that Argentum gave him earlier. “The four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?”

“We…” Trappola rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks slightly pink. “We didn't work together…”

“It was more like our goals were aligned...” added Spade, folding his arms in front of his chest, cheeks also pink.

Argentum glanced up to Grim who sat on his head. Both of them shrugged, not knowing what to add since they had already told him everything, from how they were bickering with each other to working together as comrades in the face of danger, setting aside all their protests and finally reaching their goal. All under the leadership of Argentum.

_This is…_

_It is…_

_BEAUTIFUL!_

“Ooh... Ooooh... OOOOOOOOHHH! OOOOOOHHH!” Crowley burst into tears, shocking the children. All of them looked at each other, wondering which one of them who made the headmaster cry like a baby. “In all these years that I've been headmaster...” he said between his sobs. “For the day to come that students from Night Raven College, to go hand-in-hand to face and defeat their enemy!”

Spade's cheek became even pinker. “What!? I did not hold this guy's hand!”

“I would never do that, gross!” Trappola stuck out his tongue, cheeks just as pink as Spade. Meanwhile, Argentum looked between the two of them and tried his best to sniffle his laugh. Grim on top of his head just laughed out loud.

“I am overwhelmed with emotion.” Crowley wiped a tear from below his mask. “This incident confirms it! Young Jonah Argentum!” Argentum automatically straightened up, Crowley stood up from his seat and walked toward the small group so that he could stand face to face with the boy with different eyes. He put his hands on the smallest child in the room’s shoulder. “Without a doubt, you have talent as a beast-tamer!”

Both Trappola and Spade let out an “Eh?!” while Argentum blinking in confusion. “A what? Didn’t you say something like this yesterday?”

Crowley nodded. “Students of Night Raven College are budding magicians called here by the Dark Mirror. However, they are of a superior class that makes them prideful and egotistical people that have not even the slightest inkling to work with others. Making many of them selfish and self-centered.”

Grim, Trappola, and Spade looked at the headmaster with a deadpan stare. “You're not saying anything good,” the cat muttered.

Crowley ignored the comment, only focusing on the boy under his hands. “You cannot use magic. But, maybe, precisely because you cannot use magic means that you could give instructions to magicians and get them to cooperate. Perhaps that mediocrity is exactly what this school needs right now!”

“He's not saying anything nice, isn't he?!” commented Trappola, his voice sounded offended.

“I do not doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this academy. So says my educator senses,” Crowley said proudly. He took off his hand from Argentum shoulders and stepped back, now looking at the whole gang one again. “Trappola, Spade. Along with rescinding your expulsion, I shall give you the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!”

“Eeeh!?” All of the gasped. _Surprised, weren’t they?_

“Yes. For I am exceedingly gracious~” Crowley put a hand on his chest. “But, there is one condition.”

He looked straight at Argentum again. “Because you cannot use magic, becoming a magician is out of the question. You probably will not be able to complete all your lessons.” His gaze slowly lifted to Grim. “That is why: Grim, you have proven to me that you possess enough talent to become a wizard. Therefore, I shall allow the two of you to enroll together, as one student.”

Grim jumped of Argentum head, flying closer to Crowley’s face. “Ffgna!? I... I can go to this academy too...? Not as a handyman, but as a student?”

Crowley gave him a big nod. “Yes. As long as you don't cause trouble like yesterday ever again! Do we have an agreement?”

Grim nodded, tears started to come out from his eyes and his mouth cracked a grin. “Ffgnaa... Fffnnaa... W-we can.”

Crowley nodded. “Well then, I shall give the symbol of your status as a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim.” He waved his hand, the ‘mirrors’ on his belt and hat seems to glow, pixie-dust appeared from his hand movement and twinkled around Grim’s chest before a small pendant with gray colored crystal appeared around the cat’s neck.

“Whoa! A magic crystal?” Grim picked up the pendant with his paws, looking at it with awe.

“It is the norm for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a magical pen but, you wouldn't be able to grip it in your paws, right?” Crowley explains. “It's a special custom. Aaah… I pay attention to even the smallest details~! Aren't I too gracious~?”

Grim didn’t comment at all, too busy dancing with joy in the air. "I did it! I'm so cool! I got my special magic crystal collar~”

Argentum laughed at how the cat didn’t listen at all, as if it was a usual sight for him. “Do you understand?” Crowley said again, gaining Argentum’s attention again. “As you can see, Grim is not accustomed to human society. It's up to you to take the rein and supervise him to prevent from causing any more trouble!”

“Aha! Look at you!” Trappola laughed, putting his arm around Argentum’s shoulder, pulling him into a one-sided hug. “School's just started, but you're already a supervisor?”

“I see,” Spade slowly nodded, finger on his chin in that thinking pose. “There's only the two of you in your dorm... So if you've been entrusted with supervising Grim, which makes you a prefect too.”

Trappola laughed again, but not in an insulting way. “Isn't that unheard of? For there a student who is unable to use magic to be a prefect. Nice! It's cool! A supervisor-prefect who is unable to use magic! Good luck, Captain!”

Argentum looked up at the taller boy. “Captain?”

“Yeah.” Trappola grinned at him. “You led us like a captain of the shipmates! With your eye-patch, you’ll make a great pirate captain!”

“Captain…” Argentum seemed to be thinking about the nickname. Crowley could see how his eyes twinkled when he mouthed that word again. He looked up, looking at Crowley with a bright face filled with determination. “I'll do my best!”

Crowley nodded. He knew he will. Maybe it would be a bumpy ride, but he would do his best. Crowley just knew it. _He’s a good boy…_

Just then a knock came from the door. Crowley looked up from the excited children. “Come in.”

The door opened and revealed a familiar red-haired prefect. “Headmaster.”

At the sound of his voice, Trappola and Spade froze. Both Heartslabyul students slowly turned toward their prefect in fear.

“Ah, Prefect Roehearts,” Crowley greeted. “Are you here to pick up your underclassmen?” This made Argentum looked behind him as well. A small gasp escaped his lips and… _Did his right eye just glow_ _?_ _He could’ve sworn he saw a faint green glow from his eye..._

Rosehearts nodded, stepping into the office. “I was wondering where they went,” he said looking between Trappola and Spade who straighten up their posture. “It’s already past Heartslabyul’s curfew.” He saw Grim flew down, hiding behind Argentum’s back. When Rosehearts’ grey eyes looked up to Argentum, he heard he let out a small gasp. _Ah… The eye, was it?_

Trappola leaned to the side a little. “We have a curfew?” he whispered to Spade.

Spade raised an eyebrow at his dormmate. “He told us in the Welcoming Tea Party, remember?” In which Trappola just shrugged.

“Oh, my. Is it that late?” Both Rosehearts and Argentum blinked as if they just came out from a hypnotize festival. They didn’t respond at all when their eyes locked onto each other, keeping them in a silent trance, so Crowley decided to break that trance. “Well then, let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow. Return to your dormitories, everyone,” he said clapping his hand. “Argentum. We shall send your school supplies and uniform to your dorm tomorrow.”

The three students turned around and gave the headmaster a bow, in which Crowley responded by tipping his hat. Rosehearts walked out first, followed by Trappola and Spade who was having a hushed friendly banter about their almost expulsion incident. Grim soon left and Jonah followed him, but before completely leaving, he turned to the headmaster nodding to him one last time. “Thank you for everything, Headmaster.”

Crowley returned his nod. “You are very welcome, Mister Argentum.”

Jonah walked out, closing the door behind him, leaning Crowley in his office. He turned around and picked up the magic crystal the children brought for him.

_For a young non-magician child to lead magicians with higher power above him… A captain indeed…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally planned to post this chapter yesterday and having a double update, but I felt really tired and ended up falling asleep when I'm halfway done.  
> We're officially students of Night Raven College!  
> Alright! Next chapter will be the final chapter for the prologue, just some closing, and hits of the beginning of a new arc.  
> There’s a reason why Riddle appeared here unlike in the real game, mostly involved with his arc. It will, maybe, be revealed in the next chapter.


	15. Take Me to Wonderland! (Welcome to the Villains' World Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Welcome to the Villains’ World' finale!

“You know, I kind of like that Ace and Deuce guy,” Jonah said as he walked through the cobblestone path of the school. After that conversation with the headmaster, Jonah and Grim agreed to just go straight to the dorm. After all those cleanings and sudden adventure, sleeping became next in their priorities list, ignoring the fact their dorm’s miserable state. But they didn’t care, mostly because they were too tired from all of these.

“I think they could make a good combo. They’re the ‘fight because they're so close’ type,” Jonah continued, looking up at Grim who sat on his head. “So, are you happy now?”

Grim’s grin hadn’t disappeared. “Of course!” he yelled in excitement. “Tomorrow, we aren't the handyman! Finally… Finally!” He sniffed, fat tears started to come out from his eyes again. “Our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!”

Jonah chuckled. “You know, I don’t know much about school life.”

Grim smiled smugly. “Then you are lucky you have the great me with you!” he said proudly. “Just follow my lead and you’ll pass the classes with flying colors!”

Jonah laughed. “Alright, alright. Glad to have you here.”

They finally reached their dorm and Jonah stopped. He looked up. The street light was shining above them, giving them more light for their dark path. The problem was that that particular street light near the Ramshackle Dorm didn’t lit up yesterday when he was walking with the headmaster. _Weird… Maybe the headmaster fixed it?_

Jonah shook his head. It didn’t matter. They finally reached the Ramshackle Dorm and he frowned. Grim looked down when Jonah stopped. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Did we turn on the light before we leave?” Jonah looked up. Grim looked at the dorm. Unlike yesterday, the dorm looked so bright now, lights shining from each window, which were no longer blocked by wood.

“I don’t even know if the light still works or not,” said Grim.

Jonah frowned. He put his hand on the gate. It didn’t felt rusty at all. When he pushed it, it didn’t let out that horrible squeaking noise. Jonah looked around as he closed the gate behind him. The yard looks cleaner, no weeds, no fallen leaves, no cracks on the path, there were even some pots of flower at the entrance stairs.

_What happened here?_

When he opened the front door, another surprise had awaited them.

“What the…”

The lounge looks like brand new. No dust, no cobwebs, all of the furniture had been taken off from their sheet, the floor had been mopped, the lamps were lit up brightly, heck, even the wallpaper was brand new without any tears!

“It’s all… clean.” Grim entered the lounge first, spinning around to examine the room in awe. “Who did this?”

Jonah entered the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. He felt dirty just stepping into the sparkly clean lounge. He finally noticed the brand new coffee table (which was missing a leg previously). There was an envelope on top of it, with a seashell seal. He opened the envelope and took out the paper from it.

_“Let’s talk about the cleaning service payment one day over a cup of coffee at the Mostro Lounge.”_

_\- Azul Ashengrotto_

“Sweet Nebula…”

“What?” Grim looked over Jonah’s shoulder, reading the letter. “Who is ‘Azul Ashengrotto’?”

Jonah shook his head as he put back the letter. “He’s the guy that threw you out the first time.”

“The purple guy?”

“Yep.” He couldn’t believe it. _Why did Senior Ashengrotto do this? They’ve only met each other for like, what, two days? But Senior Ashengrotto was willing to go that far to clean the whole dorm? Why would he go through all the trouble? It must’ve taken hours to clean all of these! And how much he has to pay for this ‘service’?!_

“And he did a pretty decent job,” Grim commented, snapping Jonah back from his thought.

“We need to do something for him,” he said, holding the letter a bit too hard. “Just saying thank you isn’t enough.”

“Yeah, you think about that,” Grim muttered, followed by a yawn. He flew to the second floor. “I’m going to sleep in a fresh new bed.”

Jonah looked up, walking to the stairs (it didn’t creak under his feet) “I claimed last night room as mine!”

Grim flew back in shock. “EH?! Why?”

“All of my stuff is in there and I don’t want to move,” Jonah said, climbing up the stairs. “There is plenty of empty room up there, choose whichever you like. I don’t want to share a bed with you.”

Grim rolled his eyes. “Ugh… Fine.”

Jonah took this as a small victory.

* * *

Jonah let out a sigh as he stepped out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth. The room was lit up in soft orange light from his nightlight on the nightstand next to his bed. It was a cozy little room, a bit empty but he could think about it tomorrow. He walked to his window and closed the curtain, ready for bed. It had been a long day, and sleep sounded so nice right now. He guessed that Grim was probably snoring by now and he wouldn't blame him for that.

**_...ting the ro... red... 're pain... the... es red..._ **

“Huh?” He looked around his room. There was nobody else in there. So, who-

**_...we dare... waste a... let the paint..._ **

His ears finally caught on the sound again. His eyes finally landed on the strange orb next to his nightlight. He walked up to his nightstand and picked up the bronze orb, fiddling around with it as he sat on his bed. Noticing that there was some indention when he pressed on some particular spots. Jonah blinked when they receded even further into the orb once he clicked on all of them. His lips pulled up, wondering if it was some kind of toy, or better, some magical artifact or puzzle. He took notice of the pattern, and turned the orb, matching the lines accordingly.

The orb suddenly released a strange green light. He blinked, in awe. The green light spread across the room, before some of his room suddenly melted away. He couldn’t stand up, glued on the bed as he watched everything around him change from a simple orange lit bedroom into a green… _garden?_

**_“Hurry and paint the roses red!”_ **

Jonah turned around as saw… _Were those… Giant cards? With head, hands, and feet?!_ The cards were bolding a bucket of red paint in one hand and a wall paintbrush on the other, painting the white rose on the heart-shaped bush with red color. _Is that… Is that even possible?_

**_”If we don’t hurry, the flowers will wilt!”_ **

**_“Hurry, hurry! There are still some that aren’t painted!”_ **

Why would they paint the roses red? It was pretty before.

A blur of yellow and blue walked passed him. It was a girl with blond hair and a blue dress. She was watching the cards curiously.

**_”Why are you painting the white roses red?”_ **

The cards looked down at her.

**_“Huh?”_ **

The Two of Clubs answered her first, followed by the Ace of Clubs

**_“Why, you ask? Well, to tell you the truth, we made a mistake and accidentally planted white roses.”_ **

**_“The Queen loves red, so if she sees white, then it’s off with our heads!”_ **

**_“Is that so?”_ **

The girl walked to another bush where another card, the Three of Clubs, was on a ladder, also painting the roses.

**_“Yes, it is. That’s exactly why we’re painting them red.”_ **

The scenes suddenly blurred out into green light. Jonah reached out as if maybe he could see even more if he touches the girl, or the cards, or even the bushes of red-colored roses. But he was just grasping for the thin air. The green light flowed back into the orb, locking it back in place. Jonah didn’t even realize that his bedroom came back, too busy poking the orb again, trying to make it show that strange scene again. But the orb didn’t do anything again.

Jonah let out a frustrated huff. _What even is this orb in his hand?_

He never realized that during all that with the red roses painting scenes/vision/whatever, his right eye, unprotected by anything, was glowing the same green color as the light from the orb.

_What is the meaning of all of these?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just before we end this, I had originally planned for the Octavinelle gang to show up here, bragging about the result of the cleaning, then have a small tea party, but then I remembered that Jonah didn’t have his eye-patch so Azul and the twins could probably see his eyes and it will ruin the whole plot. The thing with Jonah’s eye is also the reason why Riddle showed up in the last chapter.  
> The title this time is the title of a song sung by Natalia Kills. The nightcore male version as Heartslabyul's Character Song is in the Proud Hufflepuff playlist.
> 
> Also I finally tried Grammarly, and I love it! Checked every chapter before this with it, and now they are much better.
> 
> Alright guys, with that we end the prologue! Wow, we end this by chapter 15. Nice! I still can’t believe that I managed to write all of this in just two weeks.  
> Okay, an important announcement. I won’t be updating for the remainder of the week. After writing for two weeks straight, I need some time off. Mostly to catch up with my assignments and re-watching Chapter 1 for early planning (I’m serious when I said that I wrote this instead of sleeping and studying).  
> The new arc will start on 4th May (because its Star Wars day and I need to do something to celebrate, even though this has nothing to do with Star Wars at all)


	16. Midnight Hanging! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace is dormless now…  
> Dad-Crowley returned!

_What a tiring day…_ Ace yawned as he walked to the dorm’s kitchen in his pajamas. After meeting with the headmaster and gratefully accepting that his expulsion was rescinded, Ace thought he could get some rest when they reached Heartslabyul. _But no!_ The prefect just had to give them a lecture about causing trouble on the first day of the semester. _It went for hours!_ If it wasn’t because the green-haired senior who told him to continue this in the morning, the prefect probably would do this all night. _Ace could guarantee it!_

His stomach grumbled again. _Ah, right. He missed dinner too. Wonder if there was something to eat in the fridge…_

When he opened the door, the light from the fridge shone in front of his face. He saw three, wide tarts with golden crusts and glazed, slices of strawberries on top of them. “Looks delish~!” he said in awe. He looked around. Nobody was in the kitchen except him. “Ah… I’m sure they don’t mind if I take one.” He picked up one of the tarts and put it on the counter. He picked up a knife and cut a big slice for himself.

“Thanks for the food~” he said before biting onto the sliced tart. His eyes widened. “Whoa, what the heck?!” The sliced strawberry was a bit sour, but a good compliment for the homemade cream cheese and the crunchy graham crackers crust. “It’s so good!” he said as he bit onto it again.

“Of course, it would be delicious. After all, anything that Trey makes is bound to be exquisite.”

Ace hummed, licking the cream cheese from his lips. “Nah, man, this is something else! It’s better than the ones at the shops-”

_Wait a minute…_

Ace immediately turned around. “Wha– Prefect?!” He dropped his sliced tart, which made Riddle Rosehearts’ frown deepened.

“Quite the boldness you have there for touching something that belongs to me, Ace Trappola,” he said, putting his foot forward, forcing Ace to step back until he was pressed against the counter.

Riddle didn’t stop. “And after I decided not to punish you for staying out past the curfew and burning the Queen of Hearts' statue.” He took out his magical pen. A magic circle appeared around the pen and wit a flash of light, it turned into a golden staff with a heart and crown at top of it. “Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #89: _One shall not eat tarts prepared for the Queen ahead of her_.”

The heart of the staff started to glow as a magic circle appeared bellow Riddle’s feet and around the heart. “Larceny of the Queen’s tarts is a capital crime!” He raised his staff.

“Wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait-” Ace never realized the magic circle around his neck.

“ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

Before Ace could react further, Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, and with a spark of white light, a red-and-white heart-shaped collar snapped around his neck.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

* * *

“And that’s what happened.”

Jonah and Grim stared at him with a pair of deadpan stares. They were all sitting in the lounge of the new-and-improved Ramshackle Dorm, which took Ace by surprise. He thought this dorm was supposed to be unlivable. _How did Jonah and Grim (though he doubt that Grim helped) manage to clean all of these in one day? Without magic, nonetheless?_

“So let me get this straight,” Jonah groaned, rubbing his tired face, his bangs were covering his strange eye. “Senior Rosehearts put his magic sealing collar on you and you ran away from your dorm because you ate a tart?”

Ace huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against his chair. “Exactly! Only that!” he grumbled. “That's why I've decided that I’m never returning to Heartslabyul. I’m gonna be a member of this dorm from here on!”

“No.”

“No?!”

“You've ruined my well-deserved sleep,” Jonah said, yawning and running his hand through his untied hair. “I'm not supposed to accept guests' past curfew.”

“This dorm doesn't have any curfew rule!"

“It has now. You’ve only got yourself to blame.” _What the heck? Jonah is supposed to be on his side!_

“But that red gremlin was overreacting!” Ace yelled, trying to reason that it wasn’t his fault. “Sealing my magic just ’cause I ate his tart?! It’s practically the same as tying my hands and my feet! Plus, there were three of them! He can’t possibly finish all of those! There’s a limit to how heartless he can be!”

Grim crossed his paws in front of his chest. “Ah! If there were three whole tarts, they might’ve been prepared for the party?” he suggested. “Like for someone’s birthday?”

“Birthday?” Ace repeated.

Jonah let out a hum before shrugging. “For once Grim had a point,” he said, which made Grim lit up. “If that’s the case, then it’s no wonder he’s mad.”

“Ah ha ha!” the demon-cat laughed, puffing his chest up. “I’m such a great detective!”

Ace groaned. “Uh… I came here thinking that you’d agree with me about the prefect being a little tyrant, Jonah…”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him as if saying _‘are you kidding me’?_

“You’re also at fault for eatin’ his food,” Grim said, in which Jonah smirked. _That kid was agreeing with the cat_! “Grudges over food are scary.”

Jonah sighed. “Look. Can we just continue this in the morning when our mind is clear?” he said, standing up. “But, just to make sure. You're going to apologize to him tomorrow, okay?” He gave him another deadpan stare. “Say yes or you'll be sleeping by the front door.”

Ace leaned further back against the armchair. _This kid can be annoying when he wants to huh?_ He finally groaned. “Fine. Fine. But you're coming with me, Jonah.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

“You suggested it, so you better come with me, Captain.”

The other boy sighed. “Fine,” he said, he began to walk to the stairs. “There is some empty room around here. Pick on your own.”

“Wait. He's seriously gonna stay here for the night?” asked Grim, following Jonah, flying behind him.

“I'm not that heartless, Grim.”

“You just threatened him to sleep outside!”

Ace laughed, relieved that he didn’t heed to sleep on the courtyard bench tonight. “Thank you, Captain! Good night!”

He saw Jonah rolled his eyes but noticed the way his lips pulled a tiny smile before he disappeared upstairs along with Grim. He looked around, still amazed at how clean the supposed-abandoned dorm is. He walked to the hallway on the first floor, opening the first door he found. _Oh, it was just a closet for cleaning supplies._

When he reached for another one, he grinned when he saw it was an empty bedroom. Again, it was all clean. No dust, no cobwebs, even the sheet is new. Ace let himself fell to the bed. _Wow, it was soft… Maybe he could stay here a bit longer…_

He fell asleep just a few minutes later. 

* * *

Ace came out from his room just when the front door was knocked. The sound of Jonah yelling “Coming!” can be heard from upstairs followed by him running down. Jonah was wearing his Ceremonial Robe, because… _Why?_

When Jonah opened the door, the headmaster was standing there. “Good morning, Mister Argentum,” he greeted by tipping his head, in which Jonah answered with a slight bow.

“I have some things for you.” The headmaster bent down and carried a box inside. “I’ve asked Divus to prepare a uniform with your size, this includes your lab coat and P.E. outfits. We are lucky we still have some spares, but Divus wouldn’t mind sewing a brand new one.”

Jonah looked down at himself, slightly embarrassed that he wasn’t wearing the correct uniform. Crowley stepped out for a moment and carried in another box, placing it on top of the uniform one. “And here is some basic school supplies: books, pencils, erasers, and this semester’s textbook. If there are any books not included here, you can borrow it at the library. We have the largest collection after all. For flying lessons, you are obligated to make your own broom. Don't worry, we will teach you during class.”

Jonah started at Crowley. “Headmaster, this is too much-”

“Nonsense!” Crowley said with a booming voice. “I promised that I will help you until we can find a way home. I am being generous here~” He then took out a card. “This is your student card, it also acts as your credit card. You use the money in there to buy anything you like, but be careful not to spend too much Unfortunately, I couldn’t support you at that. You have to find your way to get money. Like a part-time job.”

Jonah started at the card in his hand. “I… I don’t know what to say…” He looked up at the headmaster again. “Thank you, Sir. I promise I’ll do my best!”

Crowley laughed. “I know you will!” He patted Jonah on his shoulder. “I must be off. Enjoy your first day of school.”

Jonah gave his a bow, in which Crowley tipped his head again. And then, the headmaster left, Jonah closing the door with a sigh. Ace took this chance to finally walk into the lounge. “That was something…” he said, whistling at the boxes next to Jonah’s feet. “That was gracious of him.”

Jonah chuckled. “He is.” He looked up at Ace. “Come on, help me carry this to my room.”

* * *

Another knocking was heard. This time Ace was the one who opened the door, revealing a familiar boy with dark blue hair, brushed mostly to the side while a portion hangs down on his right side, and teal eyes with a large black patch shaped like a spade over his left one. “D-Deuce…”

“I knew I’d find you here,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a judging looks. “I heard about the situation from our dormmates. You ate the prefect’s tart, so now you’ve got that collar on, haven’t you?” He eyed the collar for a little bit before sighing. “You’re an outright idiot.”

“Shut it! I don’t wanna hear that from you!” Ace huffed. “So… Is the prefect still mad at me…?”

Deuce shrugged. “Not completely,” he said. “He’s in an irritated mood and about three people who didn’t follow the waking up routine suffered the same fate as you.”

“‘Not completely,’ my ass! He’s totally mad!”

Deuce sighed again. “Lucky that I brought this.” Ace just now noticed that the blunette was carrying a plastic bag. “Here.” Ace caught the bag that was tossed to him. Peeking inside, he saw a familiar black jacket.

“My uniform?” Ace looked up Deuce again, eyebrow raised. “Were you snooping through my things?”

“What? Would you rather go to school with your pajamas instead?” Deuce asked back. “Just hurry up and take a bath. We will be late.”

Ace rolled his eyes, but he knew Deuce was right. “Yes, mom.”

* * *

Jonah walked through the Main Street along with Ace and Deuce on each side. He was wearing the same uniform as them; a white long-sleeved shirt, black trousers, and a black jacket with golden buttons and a collar. His black-and-white tie was tied in a bowtie instead and his vest is grey colored, just like the ribbon on his left arm with the Night Raven Collage emblem, no magical pen tucked in his jacket pocket and a pair of brown shoes.

Grim was also wearing a ribbon with the same color as their tie. He flew proudly in front of them. “Hey! Make way, make way! I, a full-fledged Night Raven College Student is passing through!”

He turned around so he could fly backward, facing him as he puffed his chest. “Look at my collar! My collar is awesome compared to yours!” He gave Ace a grin. “And you can’t use your magic now, can you? Guess I can have you cleaning the schools as part of your chores or something? Nyaha, this feels so good!”

Ace clenched his fist, veins popping on his temple. “I swear I’ll get you when my magic return…”

Jonah sighed at Grim. “Grim, this is still morning. You don’t want to bring troubles on your first day of school.”

“Speaking of, what’s your class?” Deuce asked. “You’re a first-year like us, right?”

Jonah shrugged. "I think so. But that's where the headmaster put me into." He took out something from his bag. It was his timetable that Crowley had given him along with his books. “We're in class 1-A.”

“Oh, then we’re in the same class.” Deuce smiled at him. “The first period is alchemy.”

“Yahoo!” Grim pumped his fist into the air. “That sounds fun!”

Ace groaned, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t use magic, remember? Am I gonna be okay...?”

Jonah patted his back. “Hey. After school, we'll go to your dorm and apologize to Senior Roseheart so he can take that off?”

He groaned again, not wanting to see the red gremlin so soon. “Ugh, this suck…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!  
> This is it! The start of brand new troubles!  
> By the way, I have a Tumblr now! I'll be posting my thoughts and what happened behind the fic there instead of long notes like before.  
> So, visit me if you want: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/tsukikoayanosuke


	17. Be Patient is Very Good Advice! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of school!

The laboratory was filled with various bottles of potions, cauldrons on each table, and students wearing a lab coat and goggles. Jonah decided he didn’t like the goggles so put it on his forehead. He sat between Ace and Grim. Since this wasn't their classroom, they didn’t have to sit on their assigned seat.

At the center of the classroom, in front of a giant cauldron, stood a man. His hair was parted at the side, with the longer section colored white and the shorter section black. He had narrow grey eyes and wore silver studs in his ears. Beneath a thick, black-and-white furry coat with several tail-like appendages hanging from the bottom of it, he wore a tuxedo - consisting of a black dress shirt, red tie, and black-and-white vest. He also wore red gloves, red socks, and a pair of black-and-white shoes.

“I see you’re the fresh new faces who will be joining my class today,” he said, walking toward a boy with light green hair. Hm~ There are some rare hair colors. Not bad at all, I say.” He chuckled. “Be careful not to take too long to finish, understood?”

The boy gave the teacher a sharp nod. The man, satisfied with the answer, walked back to the center of the classroom. “My name is Divus Crewel. You shall refer to me as Master Crewel if you please.”

“First off, the basic.” He tapped the cigarette holder with a red collar attached to the end of it he was holding to his other palm of his hand. “I shall have your tiny brains remember hundreds of names of medicinal herbs and poisonous plants. And fungi are a whole different topic. I’ll have you remember them so that you don’t accidentally poison yourself if you eat some when you go for a walk. Dogs love to eat anything they see, after all. I don’t want to see anyone getting a failing mark during the exam, so I shall be as strict as I can.”

“I see…” Deuce, who sat on Ace’s other side, looked up from his opened textbook that has a table filled with foreign names. “By the way, what are ‘fungi’?” he muttered as he flipped more pages.

“Blegh…” Ace rested his chin on his palm and his elbow on the table. “I’m pretty bad with memorization.”

“At least you know the basic,” Jonah groaned, running his hand through his face. “I don’t even know that we can eat random leaves.”

“If it’s grass, we just have to figure out if it’s delicious or not, yanno?” said Grim, which earned some disgusted looks from the other three boys. Grim looked at them with a confused look. “What?” 

* * *

“I am Mozun Trein, the professor in charge of history of magic," said the tall elderly man with small grey eyes and greying, neatly combed-back hair. He wore a standard black suit beneath long maroon robes and a pair of black shoes. Attached to his collar was a white jabot, which was tied off with a turquoise-colored pendant.

“And this is my familiar, Lucius.” The cat in the professor’s hand was a chubby, black long-hair with a white muzzle and golden eyes. He had white patches of fur at his chest and the tip of his tail.

It meowed when its name was called. “Meeeoooowwww~”

The word ‘familiar’ caught Jonah’s attention and he glanced at Grim who sat beside him. Everybody thought that Grim was his familiar. _What is exactly a familiar? And what connection do they have with their magician owner?_

“I shall have you learn the history behind the magic that you are using now,” Professor Trein continued. “I do not only grade by your reports, but also by how you behave in my classroom. I will not tolerate sleeping in class. Now then, please turn to page 15 of your textbooks.”

Jonah took out his textbook that the headmaster had collected for him this morning. He slid it in front of Grim because they had to share.

“We will start with the discovery of magic crystal in the Dwarfs’ Mines,” Trein started his explanations.

“Meeeoooowwww~”

“The discovery of this crystal led to magical energy being able to spread worldwide. It could also be considered as the ‘Beginning of Magic’.”

“Meeeoooowwww~”

Across the room, Jonah could see Ace was yawning, already bored of the lesson, while Deuce who sat beside him was busy taking notes, even meowing cat parts.

Grim pouted. “Ugh… I want a more explosive and flashier magic class!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “This is still the early periods,” he said, taking out an empty notebook, following Deuce example. “You’ll get that class later.”

* * *

For some reason, Jonah had already guessed that their physical education teacher would be a buff man. Strong and burly, the coach was very broad-shouldered with a thick neck and thick chest. He had dark brown hair styled in a pompadour and small blue eyes. He also had a thin beard framing his face. He wore athletic black pants, a red jacket with gold stripes with a golden stag-head is pictured on the right side of his chest, and red sneakers. He wore a golden curled arrow-shaped bracelet on his left wrist, which is a blood-like red at the point.

“I’m Ashton Vargas, and I'm in charge of watching over you bean sprouts’ physical education,” he said with a booming voice. “Excellent magic starts with excellent bodies! Behold…!”

He flexed his muscle. “These muscles are from heavy training and eating raw eggs every day! A magician with no stamina is unspeakable! First, do 20 laps around the field! And then, 100 sit-ups!” He pulled his whistle from around his neck and blew it. All the students started running around the field.

“Eh… I don’t hate exercise,” Ace said when Jonah finally caught up to him. “But I can’t handle teachers like him.”

Deuce was grinning when he ran past them. “I have confidence in my stamina.”

“What’s so fun about running around? I’m not a hamster, yanno?” Grim was running behind them with his tiny feet. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to cheat here, so flying is not an option. _This would be ten times harder for him…_

* * *

“You know, for a magic school, it doesn’t feel that much different from a normal school, huh…” Ace commented, arms folded behind his head as the three of them walked through the hallways during recess. “It’s a lot more… Ordinary than I thought… Guess I don’t have to worry much even without magic.”

“I think it was pretty interesting,” said Jonah, and he meant it. There were so many things that he couldn’t understand. Maybe actually attending classes would make him understand more about his surroundings and, if it was possible, jogged his memories. “Though I have so much to catch on...”

“Yeah, your faces during the classes were hilarious.” Ace grinned, putting his arm around Jonah’s shoulders. “You don't know anything, huh?”

Jonah rolled his eyes but didn’t feel offended. “Well, forgive me for being stupid.”

Ace laughed. “Well, you're gonna have a lot of works there. Dontcha think so, too, Grim?”

…

Jonah had a bad feeling about this. “Grim?” he patted his head. It was empty above him. He quickly turned around but not a sign of that black-furred creature. “GRIM?!” _Damn it! If he causes trouble already, Crowley will be super pissed again!_

A familiar laugh could be heard from downstairs. Jonah looked toward the window. Immediately he pressed his face to the glass window, catching the sight of Grim flying away to the courtyard, complaining about how he doesn’t need to take boring classes.

“Grim you better go back here! The headmaster is going to kill us! But mostly ME!” Jonah shouted, banging on the window. It was clear that Grim couldn’t hear them, but he didn’t care. The poor window became the object to release his frustration.

Deuce and Ace walked up to the window, watching the cat flew further away. “Running away on the first day…” he muttered while shaking his head. “That guy just doesn’t learn, huh.”

Ace chuckled, resting his elbow onto Jonah’s head. “Being negligent on the first day, are we, Captain~?”

Jonah let out a groan of frustration as he turned around to see his two other classmates. “Dammit, guys. This is no time to laugh!”

“Aw~ You need us to catch him?” Ace asked.

Jonah could felt his vein threatening to pop. “Yes please!”

Ace grinned widely at him. “I want some chocolate croissant from the cafeteria!”

Jonah’s jaw dropped. _This guy is really…_ He turned to Deuce, but the blunette also had that cheeky smile on his face. “Then, I shall have some café latte.”

“You know that I'm poor!”

Ace leaned against the window again. “Ahh~ I can't see him~ Where could he be?”

“Argh! Fine. Fine!” Jonah screamed, nearly tearing his hair off. “You guys are just like Grim...” he grumbled.

“And that’s a deal!” Ace laughed, taking out his magical pen. “Alright, shall we go help out our helpless captain, Deuce~?”

“Sure thing, Ace~” Deuce followed his grin, taking out his pen as well. “I’m most looking forward to lunchtime.”

With the two ran off to cat that demon-cat, Jonah just really wanted to smack his head to something hard. _Damn it, Grim… Why did you always make everything complicated?_

* * *

Epel was walking around the courtyard, a half-bitten apple in his hand. He was in a good mood today. Earlier in PE was their first trial in flying a broom and he managed to fly the highest compare to the other Pomefiore who were mostly complaining about how their make-up was ruined from the sweats. Epel didn’t mind the sweats, in fact, he welcomed it. It was part of the routine that he enjoys. He prefers sports rather than etiquette. _The mirror made a mistake for putting him in Pomefiore…_

“Grim, taking those lessons is for your sake, y’know?!”

“Wha–!? Why’re you the one taking me back?!”

“We are doing this for the sake of our lunch!”

“I don’t get it! I’m never going back to a boring class like that!”

“Hmm?” Epel turned toward the voices. He saw a pair of Heartslabyul students were chasing a flying cat. _Wait a minute._ He shared the same PE class with them. He knew that cat because he remembers the boy with him who managed to work together to get their broom flying. _Where is he anyway?_

“Oi, watch out!”

“Eh?!”

He couldn’t avoid the colliding cat into his chest.

“Grab him!”

He heard one of the Heartslabyul yelled at him. In instinct, he grabbed the cat in his hand before it can fly away, pulling it off his chest. He wasn’t squeezing it but still held it pretty hard. “O-Oi, let me go!” The cat was struggling in his hands, trying to claw his face but couldn’t even reach him. “Why do you hold so hard for a girl?!”

Epel raised an eyebrow at the cat. _This is an all-boys school…?_

“Alright~!” Epel looked up. The two Heartslabyul boys had finally caught up to him. The one with the red hair and heart make-up was the one who cheered earlier. “Our lunch is secured now~!”

“Thank you so much for catching him,” the blunette with shape make-up.

Epel nodded to him, while not understanding the situations. “No problem.”

He handed the cat to the blunette who immediately hugged it close to his chest, not letting it leave again. “Now, Grim. Behave and go back to class.”

“I said, I don’t wanna~!” The cat kept whining in his arms. The redhead gave Epel a two-finger salute before turning around and following the blunette. Epel stared at the pair, blinking in confusion. He looked to the ground. _Oh, his apple had fallen off._

_What a strange bunch…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, dear. There are so many things I want to talk about this Hogwarts-like school system.  
> You can visit me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/tsukikoayanosuke


	18. The Legendary Seven! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH: So, what are the seven dorms of this school?  
> TREY & CATER: (taking out 300 slides of PowerPoint and 6-page essay) We thought you'd never ask!

“Alright, let’s get into business!” Grim cheered, rubbing his paws together as he stared at the rice omelet in front of him. After catching Grim, the gang continued their class until lunchtime. The cafeteria was full of students a line already formed in front of the counter when he arrived. Jonah tried to strangle Grim when he tried to cut in line, but he did keep his promise to buy a chocolate croissant for Ace and café latte for Deuce. Grim tried to buy everything on the menu but Jonah ended up only buying a rice omelet for Grim and bonzabeast stew for himself.

“I’m digging in~!” Grim scooped up a spoonful of the rice and omelet and up it into his mouth, humming in delight. “Oh! This is so good! The omelet is so fluffy, and the cheese is so melty~!”

“Thank you for the food, Captain!” Ace laughed, taking a bite at his croissant. They could hear the crunch and the chocolate syrup dripped down his hand.

Deuce sipped on his café latte. It was slightly bitter and there was a touch a sweet. _A perfect balance._ He glanced at Jonah. He wasn’t eating his food. He was looking around the cafeteria, brows frowned. “Are you looking for someone?” he asked, making Jonah turn his head to him.

He shook his head slightly. “Not really.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Hey, do you guys know where is 'Monstro Lounge'?”

“That's a cafe at Octavinelle.”

All four of them turned toward the voice. Standing near their lunch table, stood two students with red vests, carrying their lunch tray. One of them had short green hair and gold eyes. He had a black clover motif located under his right eye and wears glasses. While the other had orange hair, the top portion tied back into a ponytail while the rest hangs straight. His eyes were green and under his left eye, he had a small red patch shaped like a diamond.

“It's run by Azul Ashengrotto, the prefect of the dorm,” the green-haired boy said. “Do you want to go there?”

Jonah shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Wait a minute…” The orange-haired boy's eyes lit up when he saw him. “You’re the new prefect for Ramshackle Dorm!” he said excitedly, walking toward him. “I’m surprised you can live in a place like that~! It’s so dark, and I feel like something’s gonna pop out~ I feel for ya, man~”

Jonah winced, remembering the state of the dorm on the first night. _Well, he's not wrong..._

“This guy’s being pretty rude,” Grim muttered. But that went unnoticed by the orange-haired boy.

“Oh. Now that I look at you closely, you guys are the freshies who wrecked the one-billion-worth chandelier and caused a ruckus yesterday!” he said, watching the other three at the table.

Ace groaned. “I feel like they won’t let that chandelier thing go until we graduate…”

“And you’re the super sinful kid who stole the prefect’s tart! I’m so lucky to meet the rumored freshies so early in the morning~ Hey, hey~! Let’s take a pic together!” The orange-haired kid, ignoring the grumbling from Ace, took out his phone and turned around. He raised his phone to the air, putting it on selfie-mode until the whole kids on the table were in the frame. He put up a peace sign before clicking the button.

“Yay~!” The senior pulled back his phone. “Hey, can I upload this? I wanna put hashtags so tell me your name.”

Deuce was a bit overwhelmed by his senior, but he answered nonetheless. “I’m Deuce Spade.”

“Ace,” Ace grumbled, still not over that he was known as the ‘tart thief’.

Grim puffed up his chest seemed happy being “I’m Grim and that’s my follower, Jonah.”

“Alright, upload done~” There was a ping on the senior phone. With a shining smile, he slid himself next to Jonah, who immediately grabbed his bowl before the stew spilled anywhere. “Oh, I’m Cater Diamond, a 3rd year. That makes me your senior~ Call me Cater, okay? Cay’s fine, too~ Heya, heya~” He gave the boys a wave.

“And my name’s Trey, Trey Clover. I’m a Heartslabyul 3rd year alongside Cater,” the green-haired senior said. Deuce, being a gentleman he is, scooted next to Ace, giving space for the senior to sit next to him. The senior gave them a smile before sitting down. He focused his attentions on the Ramshackle Prefect. “I've heard all about yesterday from Cater. Sorry for the trouble our dormmates caused you.”

Ace was pouting next to Deuce. “We’re right here, you know…”

Jonah shook his head with a genuine smile on his face. “It's alright. Yesterday was...” He let out a small chuckle. “An interesting adventure…”

Deuce couldn’t help but smile too. Yesterday was the most eventful thing that could ever happen in this life. Maybe just below that time when the acceptance letter from Night Raven College arrived in his mailbox.

“Ooh~ We’re in the same school so we should get along~” Diamond leaned in. “Give me your number~!”

Jonah gave him a sheepish chuckle. “But, I kinda... Don't have a phone.”

Diamond’s eyes widened and let out a loud gasp. “What?! That’s crazy! You’re like an endangered species!” His smile returned, though this time it seemed a little bit more… _flirty?_ “I know a place to get the newest models for a cheap price~ How about we go on a date to choose one?”

Deuce probably imagined it, but did he just hear a small growl from-

“Cater, the newbie’s backing away,” Clover finally spoke up when he noticed Jonah was just staring at Diamond confusedly at the orange-haired. “Keep it to a minimum.”

“Ahaha! Sorry, sorry~!” Diamond let out a laugh. “So, you guys were asking about the Monstro Lounge?”

Jonah nodded. “Yes. You see, Senior Azul sort of helped us with the Ramshackle Dorm cleaning.” Deuce looked at Clover and Diamond's expression. They seemed surprised. “It's livable now thanks to him. And he kinda invites me to Monstro Lounge for coffee.”

Diamond whistled. “Heh~ That was unusual for Azul.”

Jonah tilted his head to the side. “Really?” He then shrugged. “Oh, and you said earlier about 'Octavinelle'. What is that?”

“That's one of the dorms in this school,” said Diamond.

“Remember at the Entrance Ceremony, when the Dark Mirror decided what dorm you’ll belong?” Both Ace and Duce nodded, though Deuce caught a slight frown from Jonah. “Well, there are seven dorms dedicated to the Great Seven.

“The first one is us.” Clover gestured to them. “The Heartslabyul Dorm, founded on the strict spirit of the Queen of heart. Next is… Ah, look over there.”

The first-years turned to the direction Clover was pointing. They saw a tall male with white hair and… _are those wolf ears?_

“Hybrid?” Jonah suggested.

“Judging by appearance, he looks like he’s from Savanaclaw, the dorm founded on the fortitude of the King of Beast.”

“They look like a dorm that’s got a lot of athletes and guys that's good at scuffles~!” Diamond added. “They’re all pretty buff, am I right?”

Then two tall kids walked past their table. It looked like they are twins, with two different eye colors and a black streak on their green hair, and… _Wait a minute._ _Did the one with the goofy smile just wink at Jonah? Did the eye-patch boy notice that?_

“Those kids are room Octavinelle, the dorm founded on the benevolence of the Sea Witch,” Trey continued as the watch the twins was on a table, not far from a couple that looks like they’re from the desert. One of them was laughing out loud while the other just sighed at his partner’s antics.

“Octavinelle…” Jonah repeated. “You think they know about Senior Azul?”

“Of course,” Diamond said. “They are Azul’s closest friends.”

“And not far from them are from Scarabia Dorm founded on the deliberation of the Sorcerer of the Sand,” Clover continued.

“It’s been said that both are dorms full of smart people,” Diamond added. “When it comes to written tests, nothing can beat those two. Ah, but Scarabia Prefect’s only so-so when it comes to studying~”

“Alright, I sense a red flag there,” Ace muttered.

“Good boy~ You’re adapting~” Diamond laughed and Ace looked like he wants to crush the croissant in his hand.

“Ah!” Grim suddenly shouted out, pointing at a group of students that had just arrived in the cafeteria, bringing sparkles as they walked. “That’s the girlish-boy that caught me!”

Diamond laughed. “Aw~ Are you disappointed? If you want a girl, I can introduce you to Miss Rosalia’s portrait in the West Building. She’s pretty awesome,” Diamond smiled at them. “I can introduce you if you’re interested~ Want me to set it up?”

“No need!” Ace shook his head, sticking out his tongue a little. “Even if she’s cute, she’s not really uh… Three-dimensional.”

“It doesn’t matter, does it~?” Diamond laughed. “Anyway, those guys are from Pomefiore, the dorm founded on the strenuous efforts of the Beautiful Queen. Pomefiore’s full of pretty faces who take their beauty routines very seriously. Their prefect’s a pretty famous influencer who’s got over five million followers~ They also got a lot of students who excel at alchemy and charms."

"Then there’s the Ignihyde Dorm, founded on the diligence of the King of the Underworld. But…” Diamond looked around. “I don’t see them around anywhere. The students from that dorm are all sorta private, so I don’t have friends there either. I guess you could call them the complete opposite of Heartslabyul?”

“So, they are some sort of hermit?” Grim asked.

Jonah pulled the cat’s ear. “Don’t be rude.”

Clover chuckled. “Though, it’s true that they all seem pretty behaved and quiet. They’ve got a lot of members who have great magical energy and they’re pretty techy, too.”

“Those are six dorms. What about the last one?” Deuce asked. “I remember there were some kids got sorted there, but I didn’t see the prefect at the Entrance Ceremony.”

Diamond and Clover looked at each other as if they were having a telepathic conversation. Then, Clover answered him. “The last one is the Diasomnia Dorm, founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns.”

"Those from Diasomnia are... Kind of the more exclusive group. It's pretty hard for us commoners to approach them. They have a special table and all." Diamond pointed at a long table at the corner of the cafeteria, separated from the rest of the world. Those who sat there had that mysterious aura.

“Hey, there’s a kid there.” Ace pointed at a member of Diasomnia, a young boy with pale skin and short dark hair with pink streaks that sticks out at the sides. He had large dark red eyes and pointed ears.

“Grade-skipping is allowed here, so that’s possible,” Clover shook his head, making all of them turned their head to him. “But, he’s not a child, he’s a third-year like us. His name is-”

“Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge.”

“AHH!” All of them looked up and saw the young boy, now floating upside down above them.

“Th-this guy teleported here!” Grim shouted, nearly falling off from his seat.

“Are thou curious about mine age? Kufufu.” Vanrouge turned around and slowly floated down, feet landed on their table. “I hast this baby-faced visage, yet as the sirrah with spectacles quoth, I be not at an age where one would speak to me a child.”

“Baby-faced…” Clover muttered.

Vanrouge just smiled and looked at them one by one. When his sight landed on Jonah, Deuce could’ve sworn his smile widened. _Why though…_

“There's no want to look from afar, just join up and speak with us.” Vanrouge continued, tearing his gaze away from the eye-patch boy. “Art we not all students of the like academy? We at Diasomnia shall aye welcome thou with ope arms.”

Standing near their table were two teenage boys, one has light green hair, who Deuce recognized from their alchemy class, while the other has silvery-white hair. None of them talk actually, which made things a bit uncomfortable.

Ace leaned toward Deuce. “Yeah, probably not,” he whispered.

Vanrouge chuckled. “Fufu. Apologizes for dropping 'i thy meal. Till we meet again.”

He jumped off the table. The two other students stepped aside when the shorter boy landed. Giving one final glance and a mysterious smile, Vanrouge walked away, and the two others followed him.

When they finally left, Ace let out a huge sigh. “Our seat is practically 20 meters away from theirs, but you’re telling me he heard us at that distance?!” he exclaimed. “Scary…”

“W-well…” Clover cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. “That’s how it is. Diasomnia has many peculiar students. The students of the dorm are pretty gifted at magic in general. Their prefect, Malleus Draconia, is said to be one of the five greatest sorcerers of our world.”

“Malleus… Draconia…” Jonah looked down as his stew. He looked confused, brow frowned as if he was thinking hard.

“To be honest, Malleus is sorta like, the most awesome of the awesome,” Diamond added. “Well, our prefect’s pretty dangerous, too~”

“You’re telling me!” Ace yelled, crushing the croissant in his hand. “He puts a collar on someone just for eating his tart? He’s the worst, no doubt!”

“Hmm? I’m the worst, am I?”

Ace huffed and nodded his head. “Yeah! Only a tyrant will keep up with those kinda rules. Gimme a break.”

Deuce froze, pulling Ace’s sleeve. “Ace!”

Ace turned his head toward him “What?” But then he looked up at the end of their table, where a familiar redhead stood there, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at him, Ace immediately turned pale.

“GEH! Prefect?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exposition. Exposition everywhere.  
> And finally, Cater appeared! Also, hi Trey!  
> Welp, looks like we finally got that out of the way. I have some things I want to share, so be sure to check on my Tumblr.


	19. Strict Traditions! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riddle is here! Everyone scater!

“GEH! Prefect?!”

Rosehearts was tapping his feet, looking like an angry mother who caught her children stealing from the cookie jar. Though that gaze didn’t frighten Diamond. “Hey there, Riddle! You look super cute today, too~”

Rosehearts didn’t even flinch. He kept on frowning at them. “Keep talking like that, Cater, and it will be off with your head, too.”

Diamond chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Come on now~ Please go easy on me~”

Roseharts then turned to Jonah, the angry tone in his glare was lessen a bit, but still, it made Jonah feel guilty for some reason. “So, the headmaster let you and the cat enroll here after all those troubles, Jonah Argentum,” the prefect said as he let out a sigh. “He’s too soft. The whole system will soon collapse if you keep forgiving the rule-breakers. They better off without their head.”

He heard Grim growled next to him, probably didn’t take well being called 'cat' once again. Jonah kept his gaze on Rosehearts’, his brow frowned a little but didn’t dare to speak. Riddle's eyes wandered from Jonah and Grim to Ace and Deuce. “The headmaster might have forgiven all four of you, but I won’t.”

“Um...” Ace raised his hand a bit, making Rosehearts to focus toward him. “By the way, Prefect... Is it possible for you to remove this collar?”

Riddle put a hand on his hip. “Hmmph. I was thinking of removing it once you’ve repented, but judging from what you said a while ago, it seems like you’ve yet to do so. I’ll have you walk around like that for a while longer.”

Jonah could see Ace was trying his best not to frown or pout as Rosehearts continued, “You don’t have to worry. The first year lessons are focused more on classroom learning rather than magic training. If you can’t use magic, then something like yesterday’s ruckus should be impossible. It’s perfect, isn’t it?"

“Now, if you’re done eating, hurry and go to your next class. Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #271:  _ One shall eat lunch and leave their seat within 15 minutes _ .” His brow’s frown deepened. “You know what happens when you break the rules, don’t you?”

Ace quietly sighed. “Another weird rule...”

Unfortunately for him, Riddle heard it. He slammed one hand on the table and said in a commanding tone. “Answer me with ‘Yes, Prefect’!”

Ace and Deuce immediately straightened up their posture. “Yes, Prefect!” they said in unison. Diamond and Clover gave them an apologetic smile.

Rosehearts nodded in satisfaction. “Very good.”

Clover raised his hand. “Now, now. I will look after them for you.”

Rosehearts crossed his arms in front of his chest again. “You’re the vice prefect, so you better do your job properly.” He then turned toward the door of the cafeteria. “I’ll be taking my leave now. As stated by the Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #339:  _ After-meal lemon tea should have nothing more or less than 2 sugar cubes in it _ . To protect that rule, I shall need to buy more sugar cubes at the school store.” He then clicked his tongue as he walked away, mumbling, “Good grief, the sugar pot running out of sugar cubes is a capital crime...”

The gang watched Rosehearts until they saw him leaving the cafeteria, and immediately it was easier to breathe again. Diamond let out a huge sigh. “Man… That was scary...”

“He’s lookin’ like a bad guy now, yanno?” Grim grumbled, crossing his paws in front of his chest.

Deuce tensed up, looking at the door again, worrying that Rosehearts suddenly come back again. When he didn’t see the sign of his prefect returning, he let out a sigh. “Don’t say that! That’s rude.”

Well, Grim needed to learn to be careful with his mouth, but Jonah had to agree with him. He could hear whispered from a few Heartslabyul members near their table. And their whispering didn’t sound good at all.

“Did the prefect leave...?”

“I completely forgot to follow Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #186:  _ One must never eat hamburger steak on Tuesdays _ !”

“Why would you do that?! What if he found out…?”

“Uugh… At least let us eat whatever we want…”

“Giving us a bit of freedom won’t hurt him, you know?”

Diamond and Clover glanced at each other worriedly. “The prefect managed to become the head in the first week after getting into the school,” Clover tried to explain, but the hotheaded first years in their table were just too pissed off. “He’s a little bit sharp-tongued, but he’s only got the dorm’s best intentions in mind, so he’s not a bad guy.”

“Hmmph. People who think like that don’t just put collars on others,” stated Grim, followed by a nod from Ace. Diamond and Clover just let out a nervous laugh. 

Nobody spoke after that. Everyone was a bit too overwhelmed by Rosehearts' sudden appearance. Jonah could understand that Senior Rosehearts was scary for someone nearly as short as him. But this atmosphere was just choking him. They needed a distraction. What if… Okay, he could try that.

Jonah cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s on the table attention. “Umm… Anyway. Can we do something about Ace's situation?” he asked. “I rather not have a freeloader in my dorm.”

Ace looked offended. “Aren't you a freeloader too?!”

Diamond chuckled.  _ Great, everything is bright again _ . “Well, according to Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #53:  _ One shall have to replace things that one stole _ . Mister Trapolla here can’t go back in the dorm unless he brings some tarts to make up for what he took.”

Ace turned to the orange-haired senior. “Huh?! What the heck?!”

“Riddle was looking forward to getting the first slice of that whole cake,” he explained. “He probably won’t forgive you if you don’t bring the same thing~”

“But, isn’t a whole tart a little bit expensive?” asked Deuce.

“Ugh...” Ace rested his forehead on the table, Deuce patting his back as his condolence. “I don’t have that much money though...”

Diamond smiled at them. “Then why not make some~?” Ace and Deuce perked up at this. “Those tarts were all made by Trey here, y’know~?”

“You made all that Senior Trey?!” Ace looked toward the green-haired senior in disbelieve. “Amazing! It’s better than what they sell here!”

Clover chuckled. “Haha, thanks,” he said. “I think I have most of the tools and ingredients here...” He then pushed his glasses up his nose. “But I won’t simply offer you my services.”

Ace eyes widened. “Eh?! You’re gonna ask us to pay you!?”

Clover laughed at him. “There’s no way I can extort money from a junior, you know?” he said. “If we’re going to make the tart Riddle wants to eat next, we need a lot of chestnuts. Could you gather some for me?”

Ace sighed heavily. “Either way is a pain… So, how much do you need?”

“To make it for the Unbirthday Party, we’ll need it… Around two to three hundred, I think.”

Deuce and Grim slammed their paws/hands on to the table. “That much!?” Jonah choked out on his lukewarm soup.  _ That much fruit for one tart? How big was the tart that Ace ate?! No wonder he got into trouble. _

Clover laughed at their shocked face. “I’ll have you help me with roasting them and peeling them.”

Grim stood up from his seat. “Can I go home?” asked Grim with a flat tone, making Ace glared at him.

“Yeah, I'm feeling kinda tired...” Jonah added, pushing his bowl away. Now, Ace just looked shocked.

Deuce nodded in agreement, placing his empty glass onto the table again, in which Ace is practically opening and closing his mouth like a fish. “Me, too.”

The redhead slammed his hand to the table, glaring at his fellow first year. “You traitors!”

Diamond laughed. “There, there~ Making them together and then eating them together will make it more delicious~! It’s that making memories thing~ It might help you start a cooking blog for all we know~”

Jonah hummed, stirring his soup as he thought about it.  _ Making memories huh? Well, maybe he could fill his empty slot in his brain with a few new memories… _

“Keep this a secret from Riddle, but freshly made mount blanc is the best,” Clover added. “If you help me, you’ll get to try first…”

Grim’s cat ears immediately perked up at the mention of eating food. “Boys! Get your rear in gear!” He grabbed Jonah’s front jacket, shaking him in excitement. “We’re gonna go pick some chestnuts ‘til we drop!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “Wow, you change your mind fast,” he muttered, pushing Grim’s paws away from his jacket, before turning to Clover. “Where can we find the chestnuts?”

“There are a lot of chestnut trees right by the forest behind the school’s botanical garden,” Clover explained. “We’re also going to need to buy more ingredients, so you guys can split the job.”

As the group talked some more, mostly Ace and Grim arguing who will do the picking or shopping, Deuce being the middle ground, Diamond playing his phone, while Clover went to buy some lemon tea, but nobody noticed a small movement from Jonah. He lifted his eye-patch a little, rubbing the eye underneath it. 

_ Strange… It was kind of itchy since Senior Rosehearts left… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we have Riddle official introduction!  
> Some parts are cuts but not that much. Read my notes on Tumblr if you want to know.


	20. Take Me Home, Down Country Toads! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Browsing picture of chestnut tree* “Wait, why does it look like a rambutan?”  
> Also, instead of meeting a lion, we meet an eel.  
> And mushrooms-talk.

Jonah was still wondering how he never realized this place. _It was a forest behind the campus, how could he not see that? But then again, he had been only attended this place for two days._

After some arguing, they finally managed to share the job. Jonah and Grim were in chestnut picking duty while Deuce and Ace on the shopping duty. Cater followed Jonah and Grim to show the way while Trey went back to Heartslabyul to prepare the tools they need.

“Whoa! There are a lotta chestnuts here!” Grim said excitedly, flying to the center of the open area of the wood. “If we have this much, then it’s all-you-can-eat mont blanc for us!” He flew closer to one of the hanging chestnut. “Let’s hurry and-”

When his paws touched the chestnut, he immediately pulled them back. “Gah! The thorns pricked my paws!”

Diamond laughed at him. “You should find a bucket first unless you want to carry those things all the way back to the kitchen.” He then pointed at a building made out of glass. “There’s a botanical garden over there. You can find a bucket or something.”

Jonah nodded. “I’ll get it.” He then paused his steps and turned to Diamond. “Aren't you going to help?”

The senior gave him a cheeky smile. “I’ve done my job bringing you here. It’s your turn now.”

Jonah let out a sigh. He should’ve expected that answer.

* * *

The botanical garden was bigger than he expected. The air in that sunshine-filled room was sweet because of the various fruits and flowers. Jonah walked through the brick pathway, looking around. It was pretty in here. Maybe he could return to explore his place when everything is over. _Wonder if anybody was here though? Maybe he could ask for help._

“Ah…”

Jonah looked up. _Where did that voice come from?_

He looked around as saw a student in their lab coat uniform, crouching in front of the box at the corner of the room under the shadow of a small tarp-tent. Jonah walked up to him, stopping just a few steps behind the student. “They’re looking good,” the student said.

Jonah cleared his throat, trying to gain his attention. “Excuse me?”

It worked because the other boy perked up and turned around, standing. That was when Jonah realized that this boy was so tall that he had to tilt his head up. _Why was every boy in this school so damn tall?_ He had teal hair, with a longer, darker grey strand framing his left side. His eyes have heterochromia iridium; his left eye was yellow, while his right eye was olive.

 _Wait a second._ He had seen this boy before. He was passing their table at the cafeteria with his look-alike. _Didn’t Diamond say that he’s close to Azul?_

The boy was surprised a little, but he soon regained his composure. “Hello there,” he said, putting a hand on his chest as he bowed slightly. “Can I help you?”

Jonah blinked, still amazed by his height, and cleared his throat. “Well, I’m just looking for a bucket,” he said. “What about you?”

The boy smiled. “Oh, just tending my mushroom garden here,” he said, crouching back down. Jonah tilted his head and walked closer to him. True, he could see there were some small mushrooms with various wide of cap, mostly brown color.

The boy turned his head toward Jonah, gesturing him to come closer. Jonah raised his eyebrow but then shrugged. _Eh, why not?_ He crouched down next to the boy. “Why are you planting mushroom?” he asked.

The boy looked at him as if Jonah just grew a second head. “Why not?” He turned back to the small patch. “This is just an experiment. And it’s working quite well.” He chuckled again. “You can eat them actually.”

“Really?” Jonah perked up. “I thought they are poisonous.”

“Some are, but there are plenty of edible ones,” the boy said with a chuckle. He then started to point the mushroom that he grew. “These are Portobello… And those ones are Oyster… And here are the Shiitake…”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” Jonah said, chuckling. “I thought they’re just the same mushroom.”

The boy chuckled. “There a more actually. I may try to grow some Button or Enoki.” He turned to Jonah with a soft smile. “You’re way more interested in mushroom than my brother.”

Jonah shrugged. “I’m learning a lot from you today.” He then remembered. “We haven’t introduced ourselves right?”

The boy shook his head. “No, we haven’t.” He then offered his hand. “Jade Leech, second year, Octavinelle.”

Jonah took the hand, giving it a firm shake. “Jonah Argentum, first year… Ramshackle?” He ended with a small laugh. “I have a complicated situation.”

Leech smiled. “Yes. Azul mentioned it.”

“Speaking of Senior Azul…” Jonah let go of their hand. “Did you know he basically renovates the whole dorm?”

He nodded. “Yes. I was there.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you know why?” Afraid that he had offended him, he quickly added, “Not that I’m complaining! I’m grateful for that! But still, it was strange… Not in a bad way!”

Leech let out a laughed. “Oh, aren’t you adorable…”

Jonah stopped talking. _Was it bad for a boy to be called ‘adorable’?_

Leech continued. “I can see why Azul took an interest in you,” he said. “Didn’t he give you an invitation? Why don’t you come to Mostro Lounge after this?”

Jonah unfortunately had to shake his head. “Sorry, I can’t,” he said, feeling guilty. “My friend got into trouble and I'm basically helping him out.”

Leech slowly nodded. “I see. I’ll let Azul know. And by the way...” He reached out something next to him and put several buckets, stacked upon each other, in front of Jonah. “You said you need a bucket. What for?”

Jonah looked at the bucket. _Oh yeah. This was the reason he came here right?_ “I’m picking chestnut for my friend. We have to make a replacement tart because he accidentally ate the real one.”

“Do you need any help?” Leech asked.

Once again, Jonah shook his head. “There’s no need, we can handle it.” He stood up, buckets in his hand. “I’ll return these soon.” He smiled. “Thanks for the talk, Senior Leech.”

Leech stood up, and Jonah inwardly winced at the height differences. “Just call me Jade. You’ll get confused with my brother.”

Jonah nodded again. “Alright. Thank you again, Senior Jade.” He gave him a small nod, in which Jade return with a nod from himself. Jonah then turned around and walked toward the door.

Jade kept watching the boy until he was out of the botanical garden. Well, Azul would be a little bit disappointed, but he’ll understand. He let out a chuckle. _Interesting boy indeed…_

* * *

“What took you so long?” Grim flew toward his face, paws on his hips, and looking so annoyed. “We won’t be able to eat some tarts if we don’t bring some back!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “I was distracted.”

Diamond looked up from his phone. “By what?”

“A senior,” Jonah answered, walking toward a tree and put the buckets underneath him. He pulled the buckets off one by one and gave one to Grim. “Here.”

Grim wasn’t so pissed like before. He immediately took the basket and immediately flew toward one of the trees, humming about chestnut picking. While Jonah, with his small height, had to climb the tree and tossed the chestnut bellow. It hadn’t occurred to him how he knew how to climb a tree. _It felt so natural for him…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make some people mad because the person supposed to appear here was replaced by another?  
> I have a reason for that. Check out in my Tumblr.


	21. Sepia Bad Boys! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deuce’s showing the other side of himself…

"Pardon us!" As Deuce pushed the door open he was greeted by a room filled with various knick-knacks which were aesthetically reminded him of a voodoo store. Crystal skulls, jars with questionable liquids, and grimoires between shelves. Puppets and masks hung down from the ceiling. Some animal figures on the counter. Even a purple piano near the entrance.

"Geez, this looks like my house storage room," Ace muttered as he followed Deuce in. "Ya sure we can find actual ingredients here?"

Deuce glanced at Ace before glancing at the shopping list in his hand. _Fresh cream, two packs of milk, two cartons of eggs, silicon cups, five canned fruits..._ Quite a lot actually. He was glad Ace joined him. Even if he was used to carrying lots of heavy groceries when going shopping with his mother on sales hours, it was always good when you have a helping hand.

"Hey! Little lost lambs!" Both Ace and Deuce jumped when a man suddenly popped from behind the counter. "Welcome to Mr. S’s Mystery Shop!"

The lithe young man had magenta eyes, black-and-purple dreads flipped over the right side of his head, and an undercut. He had white skeletal markings painted beneath his eyes, on his neck, on his chest, and his forearms. There were also white rib markings on the bright purple vest that he wore beneath his maroon blazer; this skeletal motif was complete with a small skull affixed to his hat.

"What is it that you wish for today?" the man, who Deuce guessed was Mr. S, said as he rubbing his hand. "A charm against cheating? An ancient king’s mirror? Or maybe, some cursed tarot cards?"

Deuce walked up to the counter. "We would like to buy the things written on this note," he said, sliding the note in front of Mr. S. The man took it and re-read it out loud, whistling when he reached the last thing on the list.

"What a pretty sweet line-up~" He pointed finger guns at him. "OK! I shall bring them out now.”

When Mr. S walked deeper into the shop, Ace managed to stand beside Deuce. "You think he has those stuff here?" In which Deuce only shrugged.

To their surprise, Mr. S managed to come back with all the ingredients they needed. "Thank you for the wait~" he said as he put the last carton filled egg into a plastic bag. "It is rather heavy, so are you sure you can carry them all? If you act now, I can throw in a special bag to carry all of those things for 30% off of its original price~!" He ended with a wink.

Ace and Deuce exchanged glances, knowing that they had the same idea. "We can carry these on our own," said Deuce as he grabbed the one filled with canned fruit while giving the others to Ace.

Mr. S gave them a thumbs up. "OK, OK! Then, I shall be waiting for your return, lost little lambs! Bye~!"

* * *

"Geez... This is heavy," Ace groaned as both he and Deuce walked down the Main Street. The ginger-head glanced at Deuce. _He carried twice the weight he was carrying! And how was this dude not sweating yet?!_ "How did you do it?"

Deuce glanced at him confusedly. "Do what?"

"This!" Ace lifted his grocery bags before lowering them again. "How can you carry all that without breaking a sweat?"

Deuce looked at Ace's groceries then to his own. "Oh, I help my mother carrying her groceries frequently," he said and Ace swore he saw the corner of Deuce's lips pulled up. "I’m the only man in the family, so I’m used to helping a lot with hard labor."

Ace frowned. "So, you're a momma boy?"

Deuce's cheeks turned red as he stopped his tracks, face blushing in embarrassment. "I'm not!"

Ace grinned. "Admit it! You're a momma boy!"

Ace walked ahead, laughing. He turned his head to look at the still red-faced Deuce which was amusing Ace thought. He grinned at the blunette again before looking straight ahead again-

_*thud*_

... Only to crash onto someone, making Ace lose his grip on the plastic bag filled with the eggs and let it feel to the street.

"AH! SHIT!" Ace immediately knelt in panic. When he untied the plastic to check on the eggs, it was already filled with yellow and white goo. "All of the eggs cracked!"

"Where the hell are ya lookin’ at?"

Ace looked up. Two Hearslabyul students stood in front of him, way buffier than him. But Ace wasn't afraid. The ginger-head stood and glared at them. "And what about you? Standing in the middle of the road like a doofus."

The senior that he bumped into glared gack. "Huh? That how a freshie should talk to his senior?" His hand reached Ace jacket and he was pulled closer to his face. "HOW RUDE!"

Ace heard footsteps running toward him and immediately followed by another hand grabbing the senior's hand. "Senior." Ace froze. He glanced at Deuce. Did he just sound... deeper than usual? "Our carton of eggs is ruined."

The senior turned to Deuce. "The hell? You sayin’ it’s my fault, then?"

Deuce didn't look afraid of the bigger senior. He just kept glaring and speaking in that deep voice. "Yes. Please pay us back for the eggs. And also, please apologize to the chickens."

"Hah~? Why are ya makin’ a ruckus over eggs?" The other senior decided to join in, sneering at them. "It didn’t hit the ground so you can still eat it. Stop makin’ a fuss over little things."

The senior who was holding Ace smirked at them. "Yeah~ I saved you the trouble of breaking them!"

Ace growled at him. "Why you-"

Before anyone could anticipate it, before even the senior could finish their laugh, a fist flew and hit the senior on the cheek. The attack was so hard that the senior dropped Ace like a ragdoll. Ace winched, rubbing his butt, but then he heard footsteps again. He looked up and saw Deuce, cracking his knuckles, glaring at the stunned seniors. Ace heard him whispered, "...to laugh about."

The senior whose face was punched turned his head toward Deuce. "The fuck you said to me?!"

"This ain't something to laugh about!" Deuce yelled with feral eyes. "You don't get to make decisions for us! These eggs will be used to make a delicious tart in place of turning into chicks, bastard! Do you understand me, huh!?"

_What the heck is he saying?! Deuce! You want to be cool, but you just sound stupid!_

_Wait a minute._ Ace has seen this before. It was only a second, but Ace remember he had seen that wild eyes Deuce had. _That’s right!_ It was back during their argument in the Dwarfs' Mine before Grim cut them off.

The other senior took a step backward in fear. Ace couldn't blame him. Deuce was really scary right now. "Wh-what’s with him all of a sudden…?!"

"If you’re not gonna pay me back for the six eggs..." Deuce stepped forward. "I got no choice but to beat the hell out of you six times."

"Huh!?"

"Grit your teeth, assholes!"

"Why you-!" The senior ran toward him. Ace immediately stood up.

"Idiot! Get out of the way!" he yelled. But Deuce just raised his fists, taking the challenge. The senior raised his fist, ready to hit him. But Deuce was also prepared. Just when the senior closed to him, Deuce punched him on the cheek, throwing the senior to the ground.

"Oi!" The other senior shouted, clearly not happy that his friend was being attacked. He ran toward him, but Deuce also started running. When they got, Deuce punched him from under his chin, sending him flying back to the ground.

The first senior got up again. “I’m getting you-” But before he could do anything Deuce turned around, giving him a couple of punches with his fists before gave him a spin-attack with his leg on the head.

The second senior got up and helped the kicked senior, Deuce was still standing, cracking his knuckles and growling a wild animal. “Th-this guy’s a total madman!” they screamed. “Let’s run! I’m so sorry, Mr. Chicken!”

“Apologize to the eggs a hundred times before you stuff your faces next time, dumbass!” shouted Deuce one last time before unclenching his fists, head down, shoulder going up-down, and breathing hard. Ace was still standing behind him, shocked at what he just saw. _Deuce…_ _Deuce just beat up two guys without breaking a sweat!_

“Wh-” Ace immediately ran in front of Deuce, grabbing his shoulders, and Deuce lifted his head with a gasp. “Whoa, dude!” Ace shook his shoulder. “What was that?”

Deuce was still breathing heavily, but he didn’t look feral. In fact, he looked… _terrified?_ “I-I screwed up again…” the blunette whispered, not with an angry tone, but in a sad, almost guilt-filled, tone. “I promised myself that I’d be a model student for sure this time, and yet-!”

Ace blinked, not understanding the situation. Deuce lowered his head again, hugging his trembling arms. “I’m not supposed to do that…” he whispered again. “I can’t make mom cry again…”

 _Mom?_ “You had a rough time at home?” Ace tried to ask.

Deuce shrugged a little. “More like I was a bad boy.” Ace raised an eyebrow at him. _Deuce? A bad boy? That doesn’t sound right._ But then again, he didn’t know him so well. And from that fight, Ace knew he had experienced. “My mom didn’t take my delinquent lifestyle well. So…”

“So, you want to change,” Ace finished his sentence, in which Deuce nodded.

“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth. “And yet… Damn it!”

“Hey!” Ace shook his shoulder again. “Listen to me.”

Deuce was silent for the next few seconds, so Ace took it as the sign that he was listening. “Think about this: Isn't enduring all of that is also a part of being a model student?”

Deuce’s breath hitched. He looked up, blue eyes staring at Ace in confusion. “Eh…?”

Ace dropped his hands from Deuce’s shoulders. “Too bad I didn’t get to join in the fight,” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “You took care of them too fast.”

“Ace…”

Ace glanced at Deuce again. “Even model students have the right to be angry sometimes.”

Deuce gasped. The wind blew softly as the two boys stared at each other. Slowly Deuce smiled. It was just a small smile, but Ace took this as a victory on his side, smiling back at him. He didn’t know how Deuce’s family situation was, but he wanted to know. After all of the trouble they’ve spent together in two days, maybe they are ready to get to know each other better.

Deuce looked at the yolk filled plastic behind them. He let out a sigh. “May those baby chicks rest in peace…”

_Huh?_

"Wait. What are you talking about?"

Deuce turned to him confusedly again and Ace raised an eyebrow at him. "Those eggs don’t turn to chicks," Ace said. "They weren’t fertilized, so they won’t hatch into chicks in the first place."

_..._

_..._

_..._

"WH-WHAT?! YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

_Geez... This boy is a dumbass..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I wasn't in the mood of writing.  
> To be honest I’m kinda disappointed how this chapter turned out to be. I can probably do better in the next one.  
> Yes, today will be a double update day.


	22. Seven-Colored Deliciousness! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cater’s Vlog of the Day: Baking Lesson with Masterchef Trey Clover! (feat some bunch of first years)”

"Yosh! Everyone!” Cater waved to his phone scene. It was on selfie mode, recording-live for his magicam. “We’re here, live at the Night Raven College Kitchen!” He walked backward toward Trey and put his arm around his shoulder. “Tell me, Masterchef Trey, what are we doing today?”

Trey chuckled as he tied his apron behind his back. “Special mont blanc with some tutty-fruity topping!”

“Oh~ Sound delicious!” Cater then moved the camera to the group of first-years who are preparing the chestnut on an oven tray. “And these are our mini helpers! Say hi, boys!”

Grim was excited, waving his paws to the camera, while Ace threw up a peace sign and he threw his arm around Jonah himself looked confused. Glancing at his friends, he decided to give an awkward wave. Meanwhile, Deuce was sulking in the background. You can imagine the gloomy rain cloud hovering above him.

"Hey, what's happened to him?" Cater asked, turning the camera to Ace.

Ace visibly winched. "Chick shock..."

"I've been lied to for sixteen years..." muttered Deuce. Lucky for him, it didn’t get caught by the camera. Cater focused the camera on himself again.

“We’ll be recording bits by bits through the process. So stay tune~!” 

* * *

“We have two teams here!” Cater said, as he shot the two occupied counter with normal camera mode. He walked toward Trey and Ace. “What’s going on here, boys?”

Ace was busy drawing a large size circle on a piece of parchment paper. This was the first time they had ever seen Ace in complete focus.

“We’ll be making the meringues.” Cater moved the camera on to Trey who just spoke. “The oven is pre-heated and now for the ingredients.” Trey took out a large bowl and cracked the eggs before adding the salt and started beating it.

“Ace, help me put the tartar cream for a second,” Trey said, still focusing on beating.

“Gotcha!” Ace said as he put down the pencil for a moment and put in the cream of tartar in the bowl. Trey said his thanks and Ace went back to his drawing. Taking out another parchment paper, he started to draw some smaller circles of the same size.

“We’ll be moving the other side~” Cater walked toward the other counter where Deuce, Jonah and Grim were on the chestnut peeling duty. “How is it going so far~?”

“Look, look!” Grim suddenly flew so close to the camera that Cater needed to step back. “See how clean they are? I’m the best at these. Compare to those two!”

Deuce stopped, looking so offended. “I peeled them cleanly, too!” He raised the peeled chestnut in his hand. “Take a look for yourself!”

Cater zoomed in to the chestnut. “Oo~ Those are good!” He then turned to Jonah who was very focused. “Whoa! Jonah! Look at that!” Cater picked up the nearly full bowl of peeled chestnut and Jonah was still going. “You’re good at this! So quick.”

Jonah raised his head. “What?” He glanced at his chestnut. “It was easy.” Awkwardly, he gave the camera another wave, making Cater laughed. 

* * *

“Look at these guys!” Cater raised the whisk from the bowl of stiff meringue. “Perfectly whisked!” He then moved to Trey who just finished putting the meringue into a pastry bag. “Now, pay attention! You’re about to see a masterpiece!”

Trey piped the meringue slowly onto one of the small circles that Ace just drew. It fit perfectly into the circle and Cater cheered. “Like a master!” Trey pushed his glasses up to his nose. Cater then moved to Ace. The ginger-haired boy piped the cream, nearly as perfect as Trey. “Whoa! You’re good at this!”

Ace grinned. “Thanks! I’m pretty dexterous, you know.” 

* * *

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Cater filmed Jonah toasting the chestnut, tossing them up, and catching them in the pan without spilling anything. Deuce and Grim watched him in awe. “We have a natural talent here!” Earlier, they found out that the ovenproof dish didn’t have enough space to roast the chestnuts, so they did manually too.

“Where did you learn this?” Cater asked. Jonah tossed it a few times more before looking up.

“What? It’s pretty easy,” the eye-patch boy answer, which caused Deuce and Grim’s jaws to drop.

“That’s just no way!” Cater immediately zoomed to Ace who just said that. “There’s just no way that’s a natural talent.”

Cater moved to Jonah again, who kept tossing the chestnut, completely ignoring Ace.

Cater inhaled loudly and deeply. “You guys can’t smell this, but the smell of toasted chestnut is just so good…” 

* * *

“Okay, the chestnuts are toasted, peeled again, and just finished boiling for 30 minutes,” Cater said, aiming the camera at Trey. "What should we do next, chef?"

Trey turned out the stove. "We're going to pure the chestnut with some thin sugar syrup with some oyster sauce."

They could hear the pan cluttered in the background. "Oyster sauce?!" shouted Ace and Deuce in the background.

"Exactly," Trey smiled at them. "The savory flavor of the chestnuts gives the cream a rich flavor." Turning his head to the camera, he lifted a bottle. "And then, to make it better, I use this 'Walrus-Brand Young Oyster Sauce'. There’s no famous pâtissière who doesn’t use this for their tarts, you know?"

"Really...?" Deuce peaked from behind one of Trey's shoulder. "It’s a pretty salty sauce, isn’t it?"

"You know how they put chocolate in curry, too?" Ace peaked from Trey's other shoulder. "It kinda makes sense..."

Trey snorted, before laughing out loud, looking at the freshmen. "I was just joking! There’s no way I’d put oyster sauce in a dessert, you know?"

"What the heck!?" Ace screamed. "Are you making fun of us!?"

"Haha! It’s obviously impossible if you think about it a little~" Trey looked at the camera again. "The moral lesson here is that you shouldn’t believe anything you’re told. Learn to doubt a bit, okay~?"

Trey picked up the (luckily) white syrup and pour it into the food processor that was filled with chestnut. Grim ended it by closing the food processor.

“Now a small warning for headphone users, because this is about to get loud,” Cater said.

“Ready!” said Grim and Jonah nodded in response, turning on the food processor. Grim, who kept his paws on the lid, was shaking along with the pureeing process.

* * *

“Why won’t it come out…?” Deuce muttered as he tried to squeeze the chestnut puree around the prepared meringue in a silicon cup. Deuce turned the piping back around, nothing seemed wrong with it. He pressed the puree from the top, trying to make it slide down to the plastic-

Only for the bag to tear from the side, puree spilling down. “NO!”

In the background, Ace was laughing out loud along with the shaking camera.

* * *

“Let’s try little by little…” This time Deuce prepared less puree into the plastic. He tried to press it again. “So hard…”

Unfortunately, there was a little hole just right next to the tip. “It came from the side!”

The camera shook again, followed by Cater’s laughed.

“Dude, you wasting our chestnuts!” Ace yelled between his laugh. 

* * *

“Third time the charm…” This time, Deuce had even lesser puree in the piping back. The gang gathered behind him, watching him squeezed the bag. “Please…”

The puree came out normally. “Yes!”

The camera shook again as the gang clapped and cheered for the blunette. “Hip hip hurray!” Cater cheered, ruffling Deuce’s hair. “Character skill achieved right there, guys!” 

* * *

“Guys, look at this…” Cater, on selfie mode, lifted the finished mont blanc. It was decorated with whipped cream and canned fruit on top and sprinkled with powder sugar. “Look at this delicious delicacy… And check this out!”

Lowering the smaller moth blanc from the camera, he revealed a bigger mont blanc on the counter, with Ace and Grim singing ‘TA-RA-RA-RAAA!’

“That has to be the biggest mont blanc I’ve ever seen!” Cater cheered with the others cheering in the background. “Great work, guys!”

* * *

The camera was on normal mode as Cater recorded the juniors eating the dessert. “How does it taste like, boys?”

Grim literally went flying when he took a bite of the tart. “It’s not overly sweet but still has a richness to it! My mouth feels like it’s in a field of chestnuts, yanno~!”

Trey chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Oh, damn…!” Ace said with a mouth filled with cream.

“Was it worth it for the whole piping struggle, Deuce?” Cater moved to Deuce. He didn’t say anything, just giving the camera a thumbs up.

Cater moved to Jonah. “Dude, you have whipped cream on your nose!” Jonah immediately wiped it with the back of his hand.

Cater turned back to Trey. “Hey, Trey. You should show them the thing.”

Trey raised an eyebrow. “‘The thing’?”

“You know…” Not shown in the camera, Cater was making some wand-waving movement. Slowly Trey nodded in understanding. “Oh…” He turned to the juniors. “You boys, what are your favorite foods?

Ace took another bite of the tart. “Mine is… Cherry pie and hamburger,” he said with a full mouth.

Grim licked his lips. “Mine is canned tuna. Oh, and cheesy omelet, grilled meat, pudding, and-”

Deuce quickly cut him off before he could list every food in the land, “If I were to choose, I’d probably pick rice omelet.”

Cater quickly turned the camera around so his face was shown. “Mine is grilled rum meat with diablo sauce.”

He turned the camera again toward Jonah “I guess… Bonzabeast stew?”

Trey nodded. “Alright.” He put his tart on the counter before taking out his magical pen. “Here we go. **_[Doodle Suit]_**!” A tiny magic circle appeared underneath each mont blanc the kids were holding and suddenly burst into white sprinkles, coating the dessert. “Take another bite of the mont blanc, if you’d please.”

The kids exchanged glanced before doing what Trey said. The camera zoomed in to Jonah's widened eye. “This is-?!”

Ace licked the whipped cream a little. “EH?!” He eyed his tart in amazement. “This is… It’s a mont blanc, but I can taste cherry pie!”

Grim eyes widened as he bites into the tart. “It’s canned tuna flavor!” He took another bite. “Now it’s cheesy omelet!” And another. “Grilled chicken and then…” He licked the whipped cream. “Pudding!”

“It’s amazing!” Deuce exclaimed as he wiped his mouth. “Is changing something’s flavor your _unique magic_ , Senior Clover?”

“Yeah, Trey,” Cater turned the camera to himself and gave Trey a one-sided hug. “Explain to us about your _unique magic_.”

Trey chuckled as he pushed his glasses. “It’s the ability to overwrite things with what you imagine, not only taste but colors and smells,” he explained. “It’s not a permanent effect so it’s sort of like a sketch only. That’s why I call this magic ‘doodle’. It’s merely sketching.”

“It’s interesting, right?!” Cater said. “Don’tcha think that'll fly well if you do this at a tea party with girls~?” He then turned the camera to Ace. “You think this will satisfied Riddle?”

“Oh, definitely!” Ace grinned. “I’ll definitely make him remove this damn collar! Just you wait, Prefect!” 

* * *

The camera was in selfie mode again, with Cater on the front and the other showing up on the back, posing and waving. “That’s all for today, guys! Thank you for tuning in~”

A few seconds later, Cater posted a picture to end the great moment. He stood in the very front, holding the camera in one hand and his mont blanc in the other. Everyone else also had their mont blanc in their hand. Grim looked like he tried to be front and center, but Ace pushed him down and Deuce looking so stiff in the picture. Trey and Jonah were at the back with Trey tipping his head and Jonah giving an awkward wave. They were all smiling, raising their pastry, looking all happy.

* * *

_*knock knock*_

In a dim lilted room, Riddle put his book down as he said, “Enter.”

A group of Heartslabyul students walked into his room with terrified looks on their faces. _They should be. They had broken the Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #256:_ One should not drink lemonade with honey when it’s past 8 in the evening _._

_Rule breakers should be punished. They mustn't get away with it._

Riddle stood up from his seat as he slowly walked toward the students. “I hope you understand what you have done…”

Even their pleading and kneeling didn’t faze the prefect. Riddle clenched onto his magical pen again, changing it into his staff as he looked at the miserable students, summoning a magic circle around their necks.

“ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… In the end I didn’t do a double update. My back hurts a bit so I have to rest for a while. I hope I can do a double update today, but we’ll see since the next chapter is just a sleepover filler.


	23. Come On Ya Better Play Your Cards Right! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the Golden Trio first ever sleepover and game of UNO.  
> It's time to D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DUEL!

"Alright." Trey closed the box where he had placed their mont blanc. "You can give the tart to the prefect tomorrow." He picked up the box and gave it to Ace. "Don't be late for the Unbirthday Party tomorrow, 'kay?"

"And..." Cater added. "Unfortunately I can't let you go back to the dorm yet. So, you need to sleep somewhere else."

Ace's jaw dropped. "What?! Are you telling me to sleep outside?!"

Trey chuckled as he picked up a tissue to wipe his hands. "Well, why don't you guys have a sleepover at Ramschackle Dorm?"

"Eh?" Came from the first-years.

"Deuce can join in too to help keep an eye on Ace," Trey added again. "As vice prefect, I give you permission."

Cater raised an eyebrow at him. "Trey, you're spoiling them!" He turned to Jonah with a lopsided smile. "Jonah..." He gave the smaller boy a one-sided hug. "Can I join you too?"

Trey laughed at him and rolled his eyes. "You’re not allowed."

"Yeah!" Grim suddenly appeared between Jonah and Cater, pushing the senior's face away from the freshman. He stood on Jonah's head, paws crossed in front of his puffed-up chest. "You have to pay to stay! 10 cans of tuna!"

Cater pouted. "Tch. Bringn' me down like that..."

Trey turned to Jonah. "Then, I’m sorry for leaving our two boys in your care again, Jonah."

Jonah shrugged with a smile on his face. "No worries. Maybe this is my job to babysit them from now on." He offered his hand and Trey took it, shaking their hand in agreement.

"I'll go back to the dorm first to get some clean clothes for tomorrow," Deuce said. "I'll see you at the dorm."

Jonah nodded. "Alright." He turned to the seniors and gave them a nod. "Well, see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Captain! Why you don't have any snacks here?"

Jonah glanced into the hallway toward the Ramshackle Dorm’s kitchen. He pulled down his eye-patch after rubbing his itch away and got off from the couch. He walked toward the kitchen to meet up with Ace. Just like the rest of the dorm, the kitchen looks brand new. The counter is squeaky white without any stain on them. The new electric stove hadn't been used yet. Various pan and knives lined up on the wall. Heck, even the fridge was filled with cooking ingredients.

_He really needs to meet Senior Azul as soon as possible…_

"I've been only living here for one night Ace," Jonah said as he walked toward Ace who was kneeling in front of the fridge. "You think I would care anything about food?"

Ace looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean? Your fridge is already stocked up, but you have to cook all of these."

"Then why don't you cook them if you're so hungry?" Jonah asked back.

Before Ace could answer, Grim flew toward them, holding a Styrofoam cup of instant noodle. "Jonah! That Azul kid didn't buy any tuna can!"

Jonah lowered the cup noodle from his face. "We don't need tuna cans!"

"Not fair!" Grim yelled, shaking the cup noodle in his hand. "How come you have your cup noodles but The Great Me don't get my tuna cat?"

"Can I have one of those?" Ace perked up from behind Grimm.

Jonah put his hands on his hips. “Are you two really that hungry?” Ace and Grimm nodded their head, making Jonah sighed. “Ugh, fine. I’ll make you something.”

“Thank you, Captain~” Ace and Grim cheered, and Jonah tried his best not to smile. He still likes being called the ‘captain’. When Ace and Grim left the kitchen, Jonah took out four cups of noodles from the cupboard. Deuce should be arriving soon and he would probably be hungry too.

A few minutes later, as he was cutting up some scallions, he looked up when someone called his name. Deuce stood at the doorway to the kitchen with a bag slung over his shoulder. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

Jonah smiled at him. “It’s alright. Ace can show you your room.”

"Hey, this is a sleepover." Ace suddenly popped up from behind Deuce. "Can't we just sleep on the lounge instead of our room?"

Jonah looked up again. "The floor is hard."

"Then we'll take the mattress here too,” said Ace, slinging his arm over Deuce’s shoulder. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"What kind of fun?" Jonah asked again as he turned to turn off the stove with boiling water.

"I have some UNO," Deuce said. When Jonah looked at him confusedly, he continued, "It's a card game."

Ace grinned. "Perfect!"

Jonah glanced at the, “I don’t know how to play-”

“We’ll teach you!” Ace cut him from his sentences. “Come on, I don’t want to die by boredom! This will be a fun game!”

Jonah sighed again. “Fine.” He turned to the stove again, flipping strips of bacon on the pan. “You guys prepared the bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

* * *

“I brought this too.” Deuce put a bag of marshmallows in the middle of the group. There were four beds in the lounge now, all occupied by the three boys and a cat, each with their own cup noodle with bacon and scallions.

“Finally, a snack!” Ace reached out and popped a marshmallow into his mouth.

Jonah looked at him in disgust. “Pick one food and finish it before eating another one.” He stuck out his tongue. "Yuck!"

Ace grinned at him. “Mind your own food, Captain.”

Grim was slurping the broth loudly, finishing it with an ‘ah~’. “Another one, please!” he said, raising his cup.

“No,” Jonah answered briefly.

Grim pouted. “Boo~ You’re no fun~” He threw the empty cup to the side and reached out for two marshmallows, stuffing them into his mouth.

Ace put down his cup and picked up the card between his and Deuce's bed. “Alright, Captain. Listen up!” When Jonah looked up from slurping his noodle, Ace continued, “Here’s how the game work: All you have to do is match the color or the number. If you put out a ‘7’ you have to trade cards with one of the players. If you put out a ‘0’, all players must swap cards with the person next to them according to the order of play. Understand?”

Jonah shook his head.

Ace sighed but still smiling as he started to shuffle the deck of cards. “You’ll learn quickly. This will be fun!”

* * *

“This is not fun at all…” Jonah looked up from his card to the grumbling Ace who was glaring at his hand. “I can’t believe we nearly lost to Grim…”

“Nyehehe.” Grim was fanning the last card in his hand. All of them had changed into their pajamas, or in Grim’s case, he was no longer wearing his bow. The cat was sitting on his pillow so that he had equal height as the other three. Both Jonah and Deuce were sitting cross-legged on their mattress, Jonah had a blanket slung over his shoulders, while Ace was laying on his stomach, arms and chin propped up on his pillow.

“You guys better prepare to buy me a lot of tuna can as my winning prize,” said Grim smugly. “And I choose, blue!”

Deuce took out his own wild-card. “Now, I choose red!”

Ace took out a 3-red while Jonah took out 5-red. All of them stared at Grim, wondering what the cat had planned.

And he took out a 2-red.

“NO!” Ace screamed throwing his cards in the air as Grim was laughing in his face.

* * *

Ace took out a 6-yellow, followed by Jonah’s 6-green.

“I’m going to have to stop you there, Deuce!” Grim took out a stop-green.

“Aw come on!” Deuce yelled at the smug-looking cat. “Let me play!” He had the most cards between them after all.

Ace took out a wild-card. “What color do you want, Captain?”

Jonah looked at his cards. “Hmm… I’ll take blue.”

Ace looked up to the ceiling. “Nah. I’ll choose red.”

Jonah gave him a sideways glance. “Okay then.” He took out a 7-red. “Give me your cards.”

Ace was screaming while Deuce and Grim laughed at him. It was Grim’s turn again and he took out a +4.

“Why?!” Deuce yelled again, knowing that he couldn’t fight it.

Grim just grinned. “This game is based on skill~ And I choose blue!”

Ace was grinning after Deuce took out a 8-blue. “You know what?” He took out a 7-blue. “Give me back my cards!” He and Jonah switched cards again. But then, Ace jumped in, taking out another 7-blue. “You know what? I don’t like these. You can have them.”

“That is not sanitary at all,” Grim muttered.

Jonah looked at him weirdly. “You have no right to say what’s sanitary or not.” He took out a 1-blue, followed by Grim with his +2-blue.

“What do you have against me?!” Poor Deuce already had 13 cards in his hand, and now, he still needed to add two more.

* * *

Ace took out a 1-green. Unfortunately for Jonah, he didn’t have any green card, only red and yellow. He picked up a card from the stacks until he had six cards in his hand. He drew again and finally found a reverse-green, he immediately took it out and making the turn go counter-clockwise.

“Lucky that I don’t have to get drunk from cards,” Jonah said.

* * *

Grim took out a reverse-blue, changing the order to clockwise again.

Back to Jonah who didn’t have any blue.

He started picking up a card from the stack. _No blue… Another one… No blue… And another… Still no blue!_

“Geez, Captain~” Ace laughed when Jonah already 10 cards in the hand from previously 4. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?"

“Shut up…” Jonah growled. He kept on drawing cards until finally drew a 2-blue. Ending up with him having 20 cards in his hand.

Ace took out 7-blue, switching with Deuce. Deuce took out a stop-blue, skipping Grim. And Jonah still didn’t have any blue cards.

“DAMMIT YOU GUYS!” The others were laughing at him as he started drawing again. Just three more cards until he got a 1-blue. Ace took out a 6-blue, then Deuce with a 0-blue, which meant-

“No way!” Ace screamed. Jonah was laughing hard as he received Grim’s four cards. He waved his stacks of 22 cards in front of Ace’s face.

“Come on~” Jonah was grinning from ear to ear. “Take the cards like a good boy~”

* * *

“Hey, Deuce.” Ace took out stop-red.

Deuce groaned. But Ace didn’t stop grinning. After a 5-red from Grim and 9-red from Jonah, Ace pulled out his card. “Hey, Deuce.” He threw another stop-red.

Deuce slammed his mattress. “I hate you guys!” 

Deuce threw a 3-blue. _Leaving him with only one card in his hand!_

Jonah quickly raised his hand. “UNO!”

“DAMMIT!” Deuce screamed. The other three laughed as Deuce drew two more cards.

* * *

Ace threw out a 3-blue.

It was Jonah’s turn and he quickly put out a reverse-blue as he said, “Uno!” The game flowed counter-clockwise, back to Ace again. Deuce looked at his cards. He had a 7-blue and stop-yellow. He looked up at his opponents. Grim was frowning and Ace looked frustrated. Both of them had four cards in their hand, compare to Jonah’s one and Deuce’s two. This had been a long journey with a lot of screaming and betrayal, but he had a very good time. Their marshmallow was gone, mostly eaten by Grim. If this went well, he could trade his card with Jonah and-

Johan threw his last card: another reverse-blue.

“Are you kidding me?!” Ace threw his cards to the pile, not carrying whether they were scattered or not. “Are you serious?!”

“Jonah! You’re trolling us!” Grim immediately tackled Jonah who was still laughing. Deuce couldn’t help but smile even though he lost. He had never had fun like this. Being the only son of his family and with all his delinquent youth, Deuce never really had any real friends. But seeing these guys, with Ace giving Jonah a nuggie and Grim laughing with him, Deuce didn’t mind that he lost this round, compared to him in the past who will never accept defeat.

_He likes this…_

He gathered the card, stacking them again, and shuffling them. “Anyone up for another round?”

The three of them looked at him, each with their bright smile.

“I’m calling it!” Ace yelled letting go of Jonah. “I’m going to win this time!”

Jonah fixed his pajamas “Oh? You dare to challenge the captain?”

“Yes! And The Great Me will win this game!” Grim declared pointing at Jonah.

Deuce laughed and he put the stacked and shuffled cards in the center of their small circle. “Alright. Let’s get our game on.”

* * *

It was already past midnight when Jonah decided to turn off the light of the lounge. Jonah turned to look at the beds in the middle of the room, smiling softly at his sleeping friends. He had lost count of how many turns they had played before one by one they had fallen asleep. First, Ace, then Grim. Deuce managed to stay awake long enough to help him clean the card and empty noodle cups.

He had fun. This was the most fun he had since arriving in this strange school. _After those stressful first days, who knew that baking and card games can help him relax a bit?_

Jonah yawned. _Okay, maybe it’s time to go to sleep too-_

**_...een! The Qu...!_ **

"Huh?" Jonah looked around. _Who said that?_ He looked at his friends. _It couldn't be them._ Sure, Grim was snoring loudly and Ace was drooling, they didn't mumble in their sleep.

**_Cards, halt!_ **

_There was it again!_ Jonah looked up. _It came from upstairs._ Looking back at his friends, making sure they weren't awake, Jonah quietly tip-toed upstairs.

**_Count off!_ **

Jonah turned to the door of his room. _Could it be...?_ When he opened it, nobody was there. But he wasn't really looking for anyone. His eyes stare straight at the bronze orb that he put on his nightstand. As he walked in and grabbed in, he could still hear voices coming out from the orb.

**_...imperial highness... grace... excellency... royal majesty... Hearts!_ **

Everything glowed in a green light when Jonah turned the orb and once again his surroundings melted away, transporting him back to the rose garden. However this time he saw someone familiar...

**_"How dare you defile my roses! You better prepare yourselves!"_ **

It was the lady similar to the statue that Ace and Grim had burnt a few days ago. She looked really angry, holding up a rose bush like a baseball bat. She glared toward the individuals at the ground: the same three cards and the little girl in a blue dress.

The Three of Clubs lifted his body, kneeling before the queen.

**_"Oh no! Your Majesty Please, it's all his fault!"_ **

The Three of Clubs swung his paintbrush to the Two of Clubs' face. The Two of Clubs then pointed at the Ace of Clubs who was wearing the bucket of red paint on his head.

**_"Not me your grace! The Ace! The Ace!"_ **

**_"No! It was Two!"_ **

**_"That's enough!"_ **

All of the cards stopped their arguing, staring at the queen with fear and she yelled in a booming voice.

**_"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"_ **

Instead of pleading or waves of anger, all of the rest of the card soldiers were cheering as the three clubs card were being dragged away. The little girl was still on the ground watching the scene with fear.

**_“They're going to lose their heads, for painting the roses red~”_ **

**_“It serves them right, they planted white, and roses should be red~”_ **

**_“Oh, they're going to lose their heads~”_ **

**_“SILENCE!”_ **

As the card tumbled over because of the queen's booming voice, so was the scenery. Like a glass cracked into pieces, Jonah needed to protect his face with his arms as the green light burst out. When the light disappeared, he finally lowered his arms. He stared at the orb that had fallen next to his feet, his mind was still thinking about the strange vision he just head saw.

 _'Off with their head'?_ _He could've sworn he had heard that before…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't double update yesterday because I need to take a break. I'm currently writing the next chapter, so I don't know if I could finish it today or tomorrow.  
> On another note, this chapter is longer than I was expected. Who knew writing a card game battle was just as hard as writing regular battle?


	24. An Audience with the Prefect! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RIDDLE: THIS MONT BLANC IS IN… UNACCEPTABLE CONDITION! UNACCEPTABLE! ONE MILLION YEARS DUNGEON!

“AAAAAAA!”

Jonah tiredly opened his eyes. He glanced at the source of the sound. It was Grim, already out from his bed and growling to the air.

“Urgh…” Ace groaned, pulling his blanket over his head. “It’s too early for screaming…”

Deuce lifted himself with his elbow, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. “What’s wrong, Grim?” he asked between his yawn.

“The ghost!” Grim yelled, still looking at every corner of the room. “The ghost is back!”

“Ghost?!” Ace immediately stood up, holding his pillow like a baseball bat. “Where are they?! I’ll kick them in them tities!”

Deuce immediately went red in the face. “Ace, language!”

Jonah let out a chuckle as he laid down on his back again. He could see Lou, Soo, and Barret up there, floating upside down as half of their body went through the ceiling. He gave them a wave, in which they replied with snickers before going through the ceiling.

He sighed. He rolled his eyes upward, looking at the other in upside-down vision. “Does anyone know when is your dorm party is?”

The two Heartslabyul students went silent. They looked at each other before turning back to Jonah, shaking their head. Jonah groaned, running his hand at his face. “Guys… Seriously…”

* * *

There was a cheerful knock on the door.

“Hold up!” Jonah yelled as he ran down the stairs while trying to wear his blazer with Grim sitting on top of his head. When he opened, the familiar orange-haired senior was already standing there.

“Good morning~!” Diamond waved his hand. Jonah could hear footsteps behind him. Ace and Deuce probably just finished putting back their mattress. “Did you enjoy yesterday’s sleepover~? Was it a night of pillow fights and card games~?"

Ace yawned. “Well, we did play some UNO…” Jonah turned his head toward him, smirking, which made Ace pouted, probably still sour from his losses. Beside him, Deuce rolled his eyes while smiling. Grim on top of his head was also pouting, knowing he lost more than Ace.

“Then, shall we hurry and bring the tarts we made to apologize to Riddle? Oh!” Cater clapped his hand. “I almost forgot!” He took out his magical pen and waved it as he chanted “ ** _[Multicorfors]_**!” A magic circle appeared underneath the boys' shoes, slowly ascending to their upper body and disappeared when it passed their heads. When they looked down, they gasped at their new outfit.

They were now wearing a white shirt, with a diamond-patterned vest covering it. Over the vest, they wore the classic Heartslabyul blazer. They wore a black and yellow ribbon around their waist, high-tops shoes, and white trousers. The differences between the three were the colors of the vest and shoes: Ace had a red vest and red-and-white shoes, Deuce had a black vest and black-and-white shoes, while Jonah had a light blue vest and all-black shoes. Other differences were for Ace and Deuce, they had a card clipped on their blazer; Ace of Heart for Ace, and Two of Spade for Deuce, while Jonah had none. Even Grim got a Heartslabyul theme bow.

“Whoa…!” Deuce looked down, tapping his toes to make sure that what he was wearing was real.

Ace laughed, spinning around to look all over his body. “Dude, this is totally stylish!”

Grim puffed his bow. “Nyaha! I look so cool!”

“I know right.” Cater made a peace sign. “It’s totally fashionable and very ‘grammable~!”

Jonah looked at Ace. “Got the tart?” Ace lifted the white box he was holding, grinning at Jonah.

Cater gave them a thumbs up. “Alright, off to the party!” 

* * *

This was the first time Jonah ever stepped into a dorm other than the Ramshackle Dorm. The Heartslabyul Dorm was filled with rose bushes trimmed into a heart-shape. The dorm itself looks like a small red castle. He had to admit, compared to this, Ramshackle Dorm was nothing.

“Alright,” Ace said to himself, looking at the box filled with mont blanc. “I’ll head-on and bring the tart to the prefect so I can apologize…”

“Hey, you’re finally here~!” The first-years looked toward the dorm when they saw… _Diamond? In his PE uniform? Waving at them?!_ “What took you so long, me?”

The Diamond that was with them, the one in the regular school uniform, waved back. “I’m home~! Sorry for the wait, me~”

Deuce looked at the two seniors back-to-back. “Th-there are two Senior Diamond…!?”

“Twin?!” Ace yelled in confusion.

The Diamond that was with them laugh. “Oh, no. I’m the only son. This is my _unique magic_ , _Split Card_. I can make clones of myself using magic~!”

Right at that moment, another Diamond, this time in his lab coat, appeared. “Welcome back~”

Behind him, another Diamond appeared in his ceremonial robe. “Welcome, everyone~”

Ace screamed, nearly dropping the box. “There are more of him!”

Diamond in the PE outfit laughed. “By the way, the real Cater is me~” He rubbed behind his neck. “Cloning myself is pretty tiring. Just finished the last minute's preparation.” He took out his magical pen. “But it’s almost time. Me army, we’re done for the day~!”

The other Diamonds saluted him. “Aye, aye, me~!” Then they disappeared with a puff of smoke. When the smoke disappeared, only one Diamond stood there, in a similar outfit like Ace, but with a Four of Diamond on his blazer.

Diamond motioning them to follow them. “Let’s get going, guys~” 

* * *

Riddle stood in front of the door toward the Tea Garden, fixing his cape one last time, waiting for his cue. He took a deep breath. The first Unbirthday Party of the semester. It had to be perfect. If not… _Someone will lose their head._

“Everything okay, Riddle?” Riddle looked up to his vice prefect who stood behind him, making sure there wasn’t any wrinkle on his cape.

Riddle nodded. “Of course.” Trey nodded back without saying anything. Riddle once again looked down at himself for some final checks. He was wearing the prefect version of Heartslabyul’s dorm uniform; a small crown leaning on the right side of his head, a white and red coat dress with the bottom being lined with a gold-colored fabric. The inside of the coat dress was entirely red and has a pattern consisting of tiny hearts, spades, diamonds, clovers, and crowns, also white trousers. _Perfect._

Just then, from the outside, the double door was opened along with the sound of the trumpet and the announcer’s voice. “Make way for our leader, the Crimson Ruler: Prefect Riddle!”

Riddle took a deep breath and let it out from his mouth before stepping into the garden, toward the long table at the most front. “Three cheers for Prefect Riddle!”

Riddle stopped when he finally reached his chair. His grey eyes darted everywhere. The roses were red and the tablecloths were white. He turned to Trey who positioning himself on the chair to his right. “The Dormouse is sleeping inside the teapot just as planned, correct?”

Trey nodded at him. “Of course. The jam to put on one’s nose is ready, should the need arise, too.”

Riddle nodded, satisfied. _A truly perfect Unbirthday Party._ He sat down on his chair followed by the rest of the students. Taking his teacup, he said to the students. “Does anyone have their teacups already?” He saw everyone was holding their cup. He nodded. “A toast to the Unbirthday Party. Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

The party went on smoothly. Everyone was talking in order and no chaos. Riddle took a bite from Trey’s strawberry tart, sighing happily when he tasted the sweetness on his tongue. It was perfect as usual. Though he can’t eat this too much. It’s not good for his health and body as his mother would say.

“Um, Prefect.”

Riddle put down his fork and looked to his left. _Oh, it was the ginger-haired kid who ate his tart._

“Um…” His fingers were drumming the side of the box he was holding. “I was thinking of apologizing for what I did, so I uh…” He shrugged, giving him a small smile. “I made a new tart for you.”

Riddle blinked in confusion. He didn’t realize behind him Trey was giving Cater, who sat on the nearest table with Deuce, Jonah, and the cat, a nod, while Cater smiled back. Riddle stood up from his seat, facing toward Ace.

“Why, thank you,” Riddle accepted the box. _Maybe this kid had learned his lesson. He should reward him. Yes. Good boys always get their reward._ “Can I ask what kind of tart you made?” he asked as he opened the box-

_Wait._

_This is…_

“Thank you for asking!” Ace said in that disgusting cheerful voice. “This is a special-made mont blanc, stuffed to the brim with fresh chestnuts!”

_*splat*_

Everything went silent. Riddle stared at the fallen box on the floor, bangs covering his eyes. _How dare he… How dare he brought mont blanc to the Unbirthday Party…_

_How dare he broke another rule!_

“Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #562,” he said with a low voice. “ _‘One shall refrain from bringing mont blanc for the Unbirthday Party’_.” He slammed his hand to the table, screaming at Ace's face. “How could you do something like that?! You ruined this party!”

From Ace's table, the cat shot up. “Eek?! How many rules are there?!”

Riddle stepped forward, crushing the tart underneath his boot. “There are a total of 810 rules and I’ve memorized all of them. And I expect you to do that too!”

“Wait a sec!” Ace screamed back. “As if I’ll follow a ridiculous rule like that!”

Riddle glared at him, growling under his breath. _Another troublemaker…_

“Prefect!” He heard a screech behind him when Trey stood up from his seat. “My deepest apologies. I was the one who suggested making the mont blanc.”

“Exactly!” Cater spoke up too, running toward the main table with Deuce and Jonah behind him. “We didn’t think that there’d be a rule against it.”

“The fact that you made them isn’t a problem! My issue is the fact that you brought them here!” Riddle spat, not even bother looking at his seniors. Ace continued to glare at him, now with Deuce and Jonah standing just a few feet behind him. “As Heartslabyul’s prefect, I cannot simply turn a blind eye towards this appalling rule-breaking.”

“Damn it!” Ace screamed. “I’ve had enough of hearing all those ridiculous rules. Aren’t you being kinda an idiot?”

He thought he heard someone gasped as everything suddenly froze and the atmosphere went down.

_Idiot…_

_He just called him an idiot…_

“Hey, stop! That’s an absolute taboo word…!” Cater hissed at the troublemakers, before turning to him with a softer voice. “Also, Riddle, these guys are just some freshies who got accepted to the school.”

“Nah, I’m gonna say it.” Ace crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Only an idiot would listen to a rule about tarts. Don’t mess with me.”

“I agree with Ace,” Deuce added, waling in so he stood next to Ace. Also, the cat that once on Jonah's head flew next to Ace too, looking pissed as well. “Of course, I admit that breaking the rules is not a good thing, but… This is too much already.”

“All the other guys, too!” shouted Ace, pointing at the rest of the student still in the garden. “They’re just scared that they’re gonna get collars so they’re not saying anything, but I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing!”

The students immediately froze, some were fidgeting. “No, we’re…”

Riddle gave them a terrifying sideways glance. “Heh, is that so?”

Immediately, they straighten up. “N-no, it’s not true, Prefect! We do all we can to follow what you say, Prefect!”

The cat stared at them in disbelieved. “No way…!”

Ace clicked his tongue. “Tsk. Wishy-washy jerks. Lame.”

_These children…_

_How dare they fight his order…_

“Listen here, Ace Trappola.” Riddle took another step making them only a few inches apart. He wasn’t afraid that he was shorter than him. He was the one holding the reign here. “Ever since I became the prefect last year, not one student from Heartslabyul has ever repeated a year nor was anyone expelled. And that’s counting all the dorms in this school. That means that I am the most exceptional and the strongest! That is why I am the only one who’s always right! There is nothing wrong with following what I say!”

“That’s just…!” He heard Deuce said, but he didn’t care as he continued.

“It’s not like I’m doing this because I enjoy it. Aren’t you the ones at fault for breaking the rules? If you’re not going to obey me, then it’s off with your heads!”

Deuce managed to find his composure again. This time, spoken like a true stupid-boy, “I will not.”

Ace nodded. “I’ve had enough playing along with this selfish tyrant!”

“Say that again!” Riddle spat. “I dare you!”

“He said that you’re an irritable and selfish little tyrant who’s unreasonable with trivial things like food!” the cat said so smugly, think as if he just won this conversation.

But he didn’t.

He just made Riddle, even more, fueled up.

“H-hey! He didn’t go that far…!”

Deuce didn’t get to finish his sentences. Riddle didn’t bother changing his magical pen into his staff. In his blind anger, he pointed at the three rule-breakers in front of him. “ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!” Summoning his magic circle around Deuce and the cat’s neck, his collars snapping in place.

“AHHHHH!” Both Deuce and the cat screamed as they tried to pull the collar off them.

Riddle turned toward his seniors. “Trey! Cater! Throw them out of here!”

Trey and Cater looked at each other worriedly. Before finally gave him a nod. “… Yes, Prefect.”

Deuce looked at his seniors in disbelieved. “G-Guys…?!”

“I’m sorry~” Cater took out his magical pen, did a spin in his hand before holding it in a firm grip. “We can’t go against the Prefect~”

Trey made his way in front of Riddle, shielding him and ready to attack. “I’m sorry…”

“Oh, is that so?!” Ace cracked his knuckle. “I’ll take you on!”

“There is no need.”

All of them, including Riddle, turned toward the owner of the voice. Ace and Deuce moved a bit to make way for Jonah. When he stood face to face, Riddle noticed that he was slightly shorter than him, but the calm look on his face told him as if he could take control of the situation.

“My apologize if we messed with your tea party, Mister Rosehearts,” Jonah said in a low voice. “We didn't mean for any of this to happen.”

“It had happened,” Riddle replied, glaring at him. “And I suggest you and your troublemaking-friends step out of my tea party at once.”

Riddle started into the boy’s black eye, trying to fight some sort of spark. But he didn’t. Jonah just sighed and gave him a small bow. “We will, Prefect.” He then turned around started to walk away. “Let’s go, guys.”

“But Captain-!”

There was a dangerous glint on Jonah's eye when he glared at Ace, succeeding in shutting him up. “I said: we’re leaving.” Ace, Deuce, and the cat looked at each other before begrudgingly followed Jonah.

Before the door to the garden finally locked them out, Jonah turned his head, giving Riddle a sideways glance, and spoke something that will echo in Riddle’s mind for the longest time.

“Down with the bloody red queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys realized how the summary of this chapter is not as serious as the actual chapter?  
> Finally, I did a double update. And oh boy... this chapter... oh my goodness...  
> This was a hard chapter. While I love writing Riddle's perspective, writing his angry thoughts was harder than I had anticipated.


	25. Sudden Advice! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACE: What is the worst thing you ever had today?  
> JONAH: Probably the giant floating neko-head.

“Captain!” Jonah just kept walking out of the Heartslabyul building, ignoring Ace’s screams. “I don’t get it! Why won’t you let us fight that little red-haired menace?!”

When he finally reached the edge of the pathway, he couldn’t take it anymore. He turned around and looked up to Ace. “Okay, I’m going to stop you right there,” he said, raising his index finger, successfully stopping Ace. Deuce and Grim managed to stop their tracks before crashing into Ace.

“Think about this: Are you really going to fight two seniors without magic?” Jonah started to pace around. “And even if we do have magic, Senior Clover can probably change it so it backfired on us. Not only that, but Senior Diamond also has this clone magic, making us outnumbered.” He stopped in front of them again, hands on his hips. “We’re all already on Senior Rosehearts’ ‘most hated’ list. We can’t make this worse.”

Deuce groaned and ran his hand through his hair. “Getting thrown out for disobeying the prefect…” he mumbled. “I’m slowly drifting away from becoming a model student…”

Ace clenched his fist. Deep down, there was a small feeling of guilt after knowing what Deuce was aiming for from yesterday's egg incident. _But for real. He just couldn't stay silent! That gremlin is really pissing him off! Why didn’t anyone stop him?!_

Grim flew lower than before, resting on Deuce’s shoulder. “Ugh, this collar is so suffocating and heavy, yanno?”

“Ny’all look so stylish with your meowtching collars~”

_Wait. Who said that?_

Looking around, Jonah noticed the way Ace, Deuce, and Grim’s eyes widened. “What?” he asked. _And why does his shoulder suddenly feel heavy?_

“Wha-?!” Ace raised his trembling finger pointing next to Jonah. Still, with a raised eyebrow, Jonah turned his head–

–Only to meet with a pair of golden eyes.

“Nyaho~”

“FFGYAAA! A FLOATING HEAD!” Grim was the first one to shout, but pretty much represent the shock they had at the moment.

The head grinned but Jonah couldn’t do anything. His body was frozen, felt like someone tied a rope around him. “Oh, oopsies~ I furgot to bring out my body,” said the head as a body connecting it suddenly appeared, forming a boy who rested his chin on Jonah’s shoulder while hugging him.

The boy was taller than Jonah, with short, choppy purple hair with his bangs cut in a curve, as well as three bobby pins pinned to the bang on the left side of his face. He had a pair of purple cat ears with a piercing of a speech bubble containing the word ‘up’ in his left ear as well as three arrow piercings in his right ear. He had yellow eyes with silted cat pupils. He wore a baggy white shirt over a striped purple t-shirt, and blue pants filled with sign stickers with a purple belt that has the sentence ‘Do you stand on your head?’ printed on it, and a pair of purple boot. He had purple painted nails and wears a ring-shaped like the Cheshire Cat's smile on his right hand. Behind him, his purple striped tail was wagging lazily in interest.

Jonah tried to wiggle himself out of the hug, but the cat-boy held him hard. “And you are?”

The cat-boy pouted. “Myah~ You don’t know me?” He then went back to grinning. “I’m a great enigma with magic that’s both like a purrson and like a cat. Alchemi Alchemivich Pinka, nya~ But call me Che’nya!”

Ace frowned at him. “Alche… Come again? And let go of the captain!”

“Oh, it's ‘captain’ meow, eh~?” He nuzzled at Jonah's cheek. “Always knew you had some fetish with nicknames!”

“Excuse me?!” yelled Jonah.

“Jonah, you know him?” asked Deuce. _And why did his cheeks turn red?!_

Jonah turned to him. “Of course not!” He tried to wiggle himself off again. “Get off!”

“Nyah~ So sad~” Che’nya tightened his hug as he looked at the others. “So, what’s up with all of nya~?”

“We’re not in the mood right now!” Ace yelled. “Just let go of the captain and leave us alone.” He massaged his temple. “Geez, as if that little tyrant was being unreasonable, now we have this weirdo.”

Che’nya perked up at thin. “Riddle, a tyrant…” He let out a small giggle. “Well, mew’re not incorrect.”

Jonah stopped wiggling. “Wait a second.” He gave him a sideways glance. “You know Senior Rosehearts?”

“He’s been a little stickler for the rules since he was little… Fufufu~” Che’nya grinned wider. “What? Does that info interest mew, Pirate Boy~?”

“Can you tell us more?” Jonah tried to ask again.

Che’nya hummed for a bit before answering, “Why don’t you ask your glasses fur-end all about it?”

“Glasses guy…” Deuce muttered, thinking deep, before raising his head in realization. “You mean, Senior Clover?”

Che’nya nodded. “He’s known Riddle since he was a wee little thing. He’s the one who always visits his house.” He gave Jonah a small sideways glance before turning to the rest of the crew. “If mew wanna know about Riddle, he’s the one to talk to~”

Grim patted his cheek. “They didn’t seem like childhood friends at all…”

“If mew think so then it must be so~” Che’nya grinned. “So, there’s nothing for mew to talk to me about meow is there? See mew~” His lower body started to disappear and he let out one last laugh. “Fufufu~ Down with the bloody red queen~”

Jonah froze, unable to move yet because of the shock. _How… Didn’t he say that before?_

Ace was the first one to move: running toward Jonah and started checking him from top to bottom. “He didn’t do anything further right?”

“Wha-” Jonah looked at himself, moving his arms, legs, and rubbing behind his neck. “Nope. I’m fine.”

Ace let out a sigh. “That guy is really weird,” he muttered, shaking his head, before turning to Jonah. “What’s the plan now, Captain?”

Jonah bit lip. _Right. They had to do something about this._ “We need to get the bottom of this,” Jonah said, brows frowned, eyes filled with determination. He was met with a grin from Ace, a nod from Deuce, and Grim cracking his paws.

He gripped his eye-patch, feeling itch underneath it. But he could deal with it later. “I think it’s finally the time to dethrone the Queen of Hearts.” 

* * *

Trey watched the croquet match from afar. No one of them was having fun really. Even Riddle was grouchier than before. He was complaining earlier that they were so far behind schedule so they need to speed things up quickly.

“Hey.” Trey looked up to Cater who now stood next to him. The orange-haired boy let out a sigh. “You think this is okay?”

“About what?”

“About the freshies and the prefect.” Cater sighed again. “You know, they had a point.” He gave Trey a sideways glance. “Are you really alright with this?”

Trey pulled his hat down so it covered his eyes. “There’s nothing I can do…”

He couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t help the first-years in winning Riddle’s favor. He couldn’t make Riddle reconsider a little. He couldn’t even stop the fight from nearly happening. He’d bet that Riddle was disappointed in him now.

_Some friend he turned out to be…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pretty shorter chapter compare to the last two. Ugh… Che’nya and Lilia probably the hardest character to write their dialogue, with Che’nya and his cat puns and Lilia talking like an old poet.
> 
> Okay, fellas, we have reached chapter 25 of this fic/chapter 10 of _The Crimson Tyrant_ , so I have an announcement to make!  
> For _The Crimson Tyrant_ , I’ve planned this to end at chapter 35, making this a 20 episodes arc. But before we can move to Leona’s Arc, we’re going to have a small arc with the temporary title: “ _Jonah Argentum’s Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide_ ”. Basically an additional 5 chapter filler chapters for characters bonding and fluff.
> 
> I hope you're not bored yet!


	26. Increasingly Harsh Judgment! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the senior was reminiscing about the past, the first-years came in to interrogate Trey in any way, even if they have to T-posing around him.

“Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #249: _One must wear pink clothes when feeding the flamingos_.” Riddle stared down at the poor Heartslabyul student with his staff in his hand. “You were supposed to be in charge of feeding them today. Why are you not wearing any pink clothes?”

“I’m so sorry, my clothes were in the laundry…” He tried to reason with him, but Trey knew all those pleadings went deaf in Riddle’s ear. “Prefect! Please, I’m begging you… Don’t cut off my head!”

“This makes the second time you’ve broken the rules. I can’t overlook any more than that.” The gem on the staff glowed as a magic circle appeared around the boy’s neck. “ ** _[Off With Your Head]_**!”

As the poor boy screamed as Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, locking the collar like he had done many times before. The child was trembling but Trey couldn’t make a move to comfort him. He didn’t dare to make the situation worse and trigger Riddle even more.

Riddle turned around, his side cape flying behind him. “Write me a 5000-word reflection essay, and do weeding in the garden for a week. After that, I’ll remove the collar.” He gave him a cold glance. “I’m not doing this because I enjoy it. It’s your fault for breaking the rules. Nothing will become of you if you don’t learn to follow the rules, you understand?” He sighed turning back to the window of his room. “Trey, Cater, please take him outside.”

And like always, Trey just answered. “Yes, Prefect…”

_Some friend he turned out to be…_

* * *

“Senior Clover.”

Trey turned his head to the side. The first-years from yesterday stood at the small hallway between the library bookshelves. Deuce and Ace were the closest to him, while Johan and Grim on his shoulder stood behind them, leaning against the shelf.

“How did you know I’m here?” Trey asked.

“A lucky guess, actually,” Jonah said. “We hope that you haven’t returned the cookbook after yesterday's party, so we just took that small chance.”

Trey sighed, pushing the book onto the shelf. “Alright, you got me cornered,” he said, turning toward him, arms crossed in front of his chest. “What do you want?”

“We still can’t be convinced with the way the Prefect does things,” Ace said. “What do you think? Have you always been enabling him like this since you were kids?”

Trey frowned. “Who did you hear that from?”

“From someone called Che’nya,” Deuce answered. Trey noticed how Jonah hugged himself tighter. _Of course, it had to be Che’nya. What was he doing here? Being a nosy cat like he always be._

“Hey, you’re older than Riddle, ain'tcha?” Grim asked, flying to land on Deuce’s shoulder. “Why don’t you get mad at him?”

Trey held his arm tighter. “I’ll do that if there’s a need to, but…” he sighed. “I can’t bring myself to scold him.”

Ace frowned at him. “Why?”

“Everything that Riddle is right now is because he was raised with very harsh rules,” he answered. At that moment, he could see the first-years was surprised.

Trey pushed his glasses up his nose and he continued, “The Rosehearts family is a family of doctors who is very close to the Rose Kingdom Court, even if they aren’t noble themselves. Riddle’s parents, especially his mother, Lady Mira, is the Rose Kingdom’s Queen’s private doctor and one of the strongest magicians in the kingdom. It’s especially well-known that she wished for Riddle to be the same, maybe even surpassing her one day. That’s why everything from what time he wakes up to what time he goes to sleep, and even what academic programs he’ll do is decided for him.”

 _Trey always remembered that innocent look. The way those grey-eyes widened in awe when he put his very first (successful) strawberry tart on his bakery window. Though Trey could notice other things from the boy, like the bags under his eyes and some red marks on his hand. Which was weird. From his clothes, he looked like he came from the upper-class district like Che’nya, unlike Trey’s simpler middle-class outfit._ A noble perhaps? A member of the court?

 _Before he could even wave his hand. The boy looked to the side with surprise and…_ A bit of fear? _He glanced at the tart one last time before running away. And Trey just stood there, more confused and curious than ever._

Grim paled. “Geh… Everything…?”

Trey nodded. “What he can eat, what he should wear, and what sort of friends he can make were all decided for him. To answer his parents’ expectations, especially his mother, Riddle kept quiet and did his best. And by the time he was 10 years old, he had perfected that unique magic of his.”

_“Is this the house?”_

_“Nyeah~ Look! There he is!”_

_Che’nya pointed to the second-floor window where a little boy was sitting next to it._ There he was! The boy who stopped at the window bakery yesterday. _The boy was writing something in his book, looking so serious._

 _“Che’nya!” Trey hissed when the cat-boy decided climbed the rose bush surrounded the house. Like it or not, Trey had to follow him, worried that Che’nya might ruin their chance._ Damn it. Why did he like to go through bushes instead of around him?

_Trey managed to crawl out just when Che’nya started shouting. “Nyaho~!”_

_The red-haired kid shot his head out, nearly dropping his book as he looked down. “E-Eh?” He was confused, Trey understood him._ After all, what were some random kids suddenly appeared in your yard and shouting at you?

_“Hey, want to play with us~” Che’nya shouted without any preamble or something. “It’s a beautifur day~!”_

_The kid blinked in confusion. He looked into the room before looking at them again, hugging his book close to his chest. “I can’t. I’m supposed to be studying now.”_

_“Myah…” Che’nya pouted. “Don’t worry just for a bit~”_

_“I can’t mama will be angry-” Suddenly he turned his head and Trey could see his eyes widened and the same fear that he saw that day was back. “I-I was just about to close the window.” He turned around, giving them a small shake of his head before closing the window._

_“Mew~ He’s no fun~” Che’nya sulked. “Though I heard his mowmew is scary.”_

_Trey looked back to the window. He could see the boy again from here._ He wondered… Maybe he could visit him again when he wasn’t studying.

Jonah looked down at his shoes. “That’s kinda… Harsh…”

Trey sighed again. “Riddle thinks that being harsh will benefit everyone in the long run. He believes that being bound to harsh rules and obeying them out of fear will make people grow because that’s how he was raised. And he thinks that breaking the rules is a bad thing because…”

“Because if he overlooks the rule-breakers, it’s as if… As if he’s denying everything that he was made to be…” Ace finished. “Right…?”

Trey nodded. “I understand why you’d think of him as a tyrant, and I understand that the way he does things is a little wrong, too. But, I… I still can’t find it in myself to go against him at all.”

“Ah…” Grim’s ears went down.

Deuce just looked uncomfortable. “So the prefect endured all that…”

Ace and Jonah was silent, didn’t dare to look Trey straight in the eyes. Ace then sighed. “I think I get it now… The reason why Prefect Riddle is like that… It’s all your fault.”

Deuce and Grim looked up at Ace in shock. “Eh?”

Jonah glared at Ace. “Ace, watch your mouth…”

But Ace ignored him, stepping forward until his and Trey's chest were nearly touching. “Riddle can’t do anything about his parents because he didn’t choose to have them as parents. But at the very least, you’ve always thought that the way his parents treated him was unfair, right?”

Trey paled. “That’s…”

_“Why can’t you just come down for a while?” Che’nya looked up again. He lifted a box filled with Trey’s homemade sweet bean buns. “This taste really good, nyah~ Try it~ Come down~”_

_Like many times, Riddle shook his head. “I can’t.” Though he was biting his lips. “Mother says that too much sugar is not good for my body. I can get fat.”_

_For some reason, Trey felt insulted. He could make bread that can be healthy and delicious at the same time. Heck, he could make a vegan crepe if he wanted. Riddle’s mom just being mean._ What kind of mother doesn’t let her son eat cakes?

“If you think that the Prefect’s making the same mistakes as his parents, then tell him directly. Put him on the right track.” Ace poked Trey’s chest. “What’s gonna happen to him if you just feel sorry and spoil him? So you’re just gonna watch everyone hate him and alienate him from a distance?”

_“Why do you guys always visit?” Riddle asked, looking down at Trey. He was alone this time, Che’nya was grounded because he pulled some pranks in school._

_“Because I want to be your friend,” Trey answer. He remembered the way Riddle’s eyes widened and cheek flushed. It was adorable._

_“I… Never have a friend before…” he said, and honestly, that just broke Trey’s heart._

“Ace, I’m warning you! Stop-” Jonah grabbed Ace arm, but Ace pulled it back, still staring straight into Trey’s eyes, his voice became louder and louder.

“Or what? You’re keeping quiet because you’re scared of that collar? You’re super lame! You call yourself his childhood friend, but the way things are, you’re not even his friend at all!”

Trey clenched his fist. _What was he supposed to respond to? Said that Ace was right? Denied it? He knew he was wrong for letting Riddle on his way, but what could he do? It was always like this. Trey maybe looks smart, but when it comes to Riddle, he always gets confused. His family was not as strict as Riddle, so how could he put himself on Riddle shoe? Why couldn’t Ace see this?!_

“EXCUSE ME, ALL OF YOU!”

A bird mask suddenly appeared in the gap of book between Ace and Trey, making the kids in the corridor scream.

“AAAAAHHHH!”

And of course, Crowley screamed louder.

“BE QUIET IN THE LIBRARY!”

“Headmaster, please,” said Johan, clutching his chest. “Don’t scare us like that!”

“You’re the one shouting here, yanno,” Grim mumbled, hanging on Deuce back, who was nearly fainted.

“Oh.” Crowley cleared his throat, embarrassed. “Pardon me.” He pulled himself back. The kids could hear some footsteps before finally, Crowley entered their hall.

“Good grief, the library is meant to be a quiet place where people can study and enjoy reading,” he said in a much softer voice.

“Forgive us,” Jonah said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But what are you doing here, Headmaster?”

“I was researching ways on how to get you back to your home. I didn’t forget it at all, see?” Crowley fixed his vest, looking proud of himself. “Oh, how kind of me~ Research starts at the library, after all.”

The first years looked at each other, for some reason weren't convinced with the answer. They stared at Crowley as if asking _‘are you sure about that?’_ Crowley cleared his throat again. “So, what is everyone doing here with such troubled faces?”

All of them looked at each other again before Deuce spoke, “Well…” 

* * *

“I see, so that’s what happened…” Crowley nodded as he tapped his chin. They all decided to sit down at the corner of the library, near the restricted area, far from anyone, to recount everything that had happened, from the part where Ace ate the tart until the ruined Unbirthday Party. Trey noticed that the first-years skipped the part where Che’nya showed up for some reason.

“You don’t want to apologize to have the collar taken off, but you know that convincing the Prefect will not go smoothly…” said the headmaster again.

Deuce nodded, his hands folded on top of the table. “That’s about it, yeah.”

“I see. If you dislike the way your prefect does things, you do have the option to switch dormitories,” explained Crowley. “However, the Dark Mirror is the one that judges based on what it sees in your soul, so it is quite a herculean task to transfer dormitories.”

“Transferring, huh…” Ace leaned back to his chair with arms folded in front of him. “I feel like I’d lose to him if I did that, so I don’t really wanna go for it.”

Crowley nodded. “Very well. Then how about challenging Rosehearts to a duel and then take the title of prefect for yourself?”

“EEEEEEHHHHHHHH!?”

Crowley shushed them again. “I said, please keep it down!”

“It’s because you said something weird, Headmaster!” Ace whispered back.

“Nothing strange in it at all, My Boy,” Crowley said again. “Young Rosehearts himself got the position by doing the same thing, after all.”

“How is the prefect position decided here in Night Raven College?” asked Deuce.

“They can either be appointed by the previous prefect or they can win a duel against them. However, there are also other ways,” Crowley explained. “A duel is one of the simpler ways, I’d say.”

Jonah frowned. “But didn’t you say that using magic for one’s benefit was forbidden?”

Crowley nodded again. “For personal gain, yes. However, a duel appointed and approved by the Headmaster himself due to official and valid reasons is another story.”

“If I remember correctly,” Trey added. “It’s forbidden to enforce a handicap on your opponent before a duel starts, so you can have the collar taken off without apologizing to Riddle. Ah, but…”

“New students are given the right to challenge their prefect should they want to.” Crowley turned to Ace, staring straight at him with his glowing yellow eyes. “What will you do, Mister Trappola? Will you challenge him?”

Without hesitation, Ace stood from his seat, hands slamming the table. “Alright, then. I’ll show him who is boss.”

Deuce also stood up, which surprised Trey. “I’ll do, too.”

Grim flew to the air, pumping his paws up. “Me, too!”

“Unfortunately, you’re from a different dorm so you can’t participate, Grim,” Crowley said.

Grim dropped back to the table, disappointed. “Then who’s gonna take my collar off?!”

Ace grinned at him, patting him on the head. “If I become prefect, I’ll order that Riddle to take it off for ya!”

Grim folded his paws in front of his chest. “Damn it… This is a chance for me to show off my skills, too…” he grumbled.

Ace laughed, his eyes burned with determination. “When I become the prefect, I’ll have him say ‘It’s all my fault, I’m sorry’ to me! And I’ll make him stop enforcing all those dumb rules!” He turned to the boy who was sitting next to Trey. “Well, Captain?”

All eyes focused on Jonah, including Trey’s. After a long silence, Jonah finally sighed. “I can’t stop you, can I?”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Deuce spoke. “But as a man, wouldn’t it be great to aim for the top at least once?” He gave them a nod. “I’ll do my best for the team if we’re gonna go ahead and challenge him.”

“Your bad-boy side is showing again~” Ace snickered, which caused Deuce’s cheeks turned red.

“Eh? It’s okay… right?”

Jonah let out another sigh as he stood up. “Fine,” he said, earning brighter smiles from the rest of the first years. He looked up to him, eyes shone as a warning. “But the second things get worse, I’m pulling everyone out. Understand?”

All of them gave him a salute. “Aye aye, Captain!”

Crowley nodded, somewhat satisfied with the decision. “Then, I shall inform you of the proceedings of the duel…” 

* * *

Nobody was feeling like another card game night. That was understandable. Jonah sighed as he stared up his ceiling, playing toss-and-catch with the bronze orb. His mind still wandered to the incident earlier. _So, Senior Rosehearts, Senior Clover, and that Che’nya-cat know each other. Not only that…_

_Down with the bloody red queen..._

_Why did he say that? He was sure he heard that before. But from where..._

_And how did that Che'nya-cat know that he said that? Who is he anyway...?_

This thought was interrupted when he heard the sound of the trumpet. He caught the orb and sat upon his bed, looking around the room. _Who blew that in the middle of the night?_ The trumpet kept going until Jonah finally looked down at the orb. _Oh, is it time again?_

After some clicking and turning several, the orb opened and release the strange light, at the same time his right eye glow in a similar glow under his bangs. However this time, it didn’t take him to the rose garden, but toward a room and he was sitting in some sort of box. There were two stands in front of him, facing each other. On the lower stand, stood the blond girl in her blue dress.

**_“I’ll give you a piece of my mind. What kind of a queen are you?! You’re just a selfish and evil tyrant who does what she wants.”_ **

On the opposite stand, taller than the girl’s, was the Queen of heart herself.

**_“What did you just say, girl?”_ **

All of a sudden, a chubby pink and purple cat suddenly appeared, sitting on top of the queen’s head, but strangely enough, she didn’t even realize it.

**_“She called you a selfish tyrant~”_ **

The Queen immediately turned red because of anger.

**_“OFF WITH HER HEAD!”_ **

Out of the shadows and from the black floor, cards suddenly jumped out, raining down the girl and Jonah. They were blocking his vision from the girl, but he could get a glimpse of her running away before the waterfall of cards blocked his vision entirely.

When the last card soldier fell, Jonah finally realized that he was back in his room. He stared at the ord. _What is this thing anyway? Why is it showing stuff that isn’t related to him?_

Jonah fell back to his bed, lifting the orb in front of his face. He couldn’t think about the vision/dream/hallucination right now. Tomorrow was the big day, and he needed to make sure his crew wouldn’t go too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually hard for me to write especially the flashback scene (it could’ve been more fluffy). Geez, I can’t imagine how I am supposed to write Riddle flashback…
> 
> This chapter… Oh my goodness… This chapter tore me apart. On one hand, I know where Riddle is going to be in the future, but at the same time, I love the flashback here and Riddle and Trey’s relationship is just so pure and innocent back then… This is just like Azul and Jonah’s interaction: wasn’t planned at all!
> 
> The flashbacks are heavy canon-divergence, so it probably didn’t happen in the real game.
> 
> Okay... tomorrow's chapter is a battle chapter... I hope I can finish it in time...


	27. Rookies Taking Action! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven Eight. Nine…  
> ACE, DEUCE & RIDDLE: It’s the Ten Duel Commandments!

“In the end, they refuse to follow the rule,” Riddle sighed, setting his teacup and its saucer on the table. Trey stood in front of his table, nodding at the prefect. The red-haired boy huffed. “Alright then.”

Trey stared at the prefect, eyes slightly widened. “What?”

The corner of Riddle's lips curled up. “You sound surprised, Trey,” he said, standing up. “This is the perfect opportunity to show them what happens to children who break the rule. They will regret everything they had done.”

Cater's breath hitched. He pressed his back against the wall near the prefect's bedroom. His trembling hands were clutching the end of his jacket. _This is not real, right? There's just no way Ace and Deuce would dare to challenge Riddle to a decisive match for the seat of the dorm leader, right? They can't be that reckless. Riddle was already powerful back when he challenged him and took his crown, who knows how strong he is now. They wouldn't survive five seconds against the prefect._

The sound of a door opening and closing brought Cater back from his thought. Trey stared at him in concern. “You've heard it?” he asked.

Cater looked down at his shoes. “Are they for real?”

He heard Trey sighed. “I tried to stop them, but there's no changing their mind.” The greenette stepped forward, putting a reassuring hand onto Cater’s shoulder, somehow managed to ground him. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t end up causing more trouble.”

Cater nodded. “Yeah...”

* * *

The news of the duel had spread quickly throughout the whole dorm. The next morning, a crowd had gathered in the Rose Maze, watching the group who was standing in the middle of the area. The headmaster stood between Ace and Deuce on one side and Riddle on the other side.

“The decisive match for the title of the Heartslabyul Prefect will begin shortly,” Crowley announced. “The challengers are Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade. Defending his title is the current prefect, Riddle Rosehearts.” Crowley turned to Riddle. “In accordance with the rules of this decisive match, please remove the collars to start the duel with no handicaps for both sides.”

Riddle huffed, but he still snapped his finger, releasing Ace and Deuce from their collar.

“The damn thing’s finally off!” Ace sighed in relief.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have it back soon enough, so I’d say you best enjoy it while you can,” Riddle said with a smirk. “Do you really think that you can solve your problem with this duel?”

Ace frowned at him. “Most definitely.”

“We will never challenge you as a joke,” Deuce added, cracking his knuckles.

“Unbelievable,” Riddle sighed. “Let’s get started quickly.”

“Riddle~” Cater waved his hand. “What should we do about afternoon tea?”

“That won’t problem,” he said as he gave him a sideways glance. “The rule state that my afternoon tea always has to be at exactly 4 PM.”

“But it’s already past 3:30…”

“Do you think I’ll be late for anything in my life? I’m pretty sure this will be over quickly.” Riddle looked back at his opponents, not realizing the winch from Cater. “As you can see, I don’t have enough time. Taking you on one at a time will be troublesome, so come at me, both of you.”

“You can do it, Prefect! Put them in their place!” The rest of the Heartslabyul cheered, but Trey just pulled his hat down, somewhat disappointed and embarrassed.

“Ugh, that’s so creepy!” Grim groaned from Jonah’s shoulder and the boy just had to nod.

“They sure know how to run their mouths…” Deuce whispered to Ace.

“No matter,” Ace said, taking out his magical pen. “We can take him down.”

Deuce looked more confident and took out his pen as well. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

Riddle took out his magical pen and quickly summoned his staff with a single wave. “Headmaster, if you will.”

Crowley nodded. He took out a small mirror from his pocket. “The match begins after the hand mirror falls to the ground.” He raised the mirror high above his head. “Ready…”

He let the mirror slipped from his hand…

_*crash*_

“FIGHT!”

Riddle slammed his staff onto the ground. All of a sudden, rose bushes started to grow around them, forming a small arena. “We can’t let you accidentally ruin the garden or harming people with your wild magic,” Riddle said as if that was the fact.

“I’ll show you whose wild!” Ace summoned his magic circle. “ ** _[Rictusempra]_**!” He summoned a heavy wave of black-magic straight toward Riddle. The prefect lifted his staff toward Ace, chanting “ ** _[Everte Statum]_**!” and summoning his own black-magic wave, clashing with Ace’s. Ace grunted. Riddle’s magic was definitely stronger than Ace. He could feel himself being pushed back.

“Ace!” Deuce summoned his magic circle shouting “ ** _[Expelliarmus]_**!” adding more black-magic into Ace’s.

But Riddle didn’t seem to be bothered by this. “It’s not too late to stop, boys.”

“The hell we will stop!” Ace screamed. Riddle smirked and added more power to his attack. It proofed to be too much as Riddle only took a step forward and his black-light flowed even stronger, successfully throwing back Ace and Deuce, spinning them in the air. Rose petals flew into the air from the failed magic as Ace was thrown to the ground and Deuce’s back hit the thorny arena.

“Ace! Deuce!” Jonah tried to run toward, but Trey held him by the shoulders, stopping him.

“Outsiders aren’t allowed to interfere with the duel,” he said and Jonah gritted his teeth, only able to watch from the outside.

Ace slowly lifted his trembling body. _Dammit... So this is the power of the prefect... That was just a simple magic attack and he already has that much power?_

“This is what you get from fight those who are in charge.” Riddle stepped forward, walking toward the boys. “Should you give up now, I will lessen your punishment.”

“To hell with your punishment!” Ace suddenly shot up and starting to attack Riddle with his wind magic. It was so sudden that even Riddle was surprised and started to block the attacks. Ace started to push Riddle backward, stepping into the center of the arena.

Deuce held his pen high. “ ** _[Come forth]_** , **_[cauldron]_**!” A magic circle appeared above Riddle and a cauldron suddenly came falling. Riddle pushed back Ace, just in time when he looked up and saw the descending cauldron he jumped out of the way-

“Take this!” Ace used his wind to blow the cauldron toward Riddle. In a tight place, Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, summoning a rose bush to catch the cauldron before it hit him. He then pointed his staff forward, summoning thorny vines, and caught Ace’s body. The ginger-head let out a scream when Riddle waved his staff, throwing Ace aside and crashing into Deuce.

“A-Ace...” Deuce groaned, shaking Ace’s shoulders. “A-Are you okay?”

Ace slowly picked himself up. “Shit...”

“This will teach you a lesson.” Riddle once again summoned his dark magic, “ ** _[Alarte Ascendare]_**!”

Ace’s eyes widened, but he was suddenly being pushed back to the ground by Deuce. The blunette stood up, pen held with his two hands, and blasted his own dark magic with a scream of “ ** _[EXPELLIARMUS]_**!” clashing with Riddle.

“Don’t...” Deuce growled. Riddle’s eyes widened. “DON’T YOU DARE HURT HIM AGAIN!” Deuce pushed back, with even more magic than before, steering the power away from them, destroying the wall. Deuce summoned a magic circle in front of him. “ ** _[BLAST OFF]_**! **_[CAULDRON]_**!” A cauldron suddenly shot out from it, aiming straight at Riddle. But the vines around Riddle managed to smack it away. Deuce was stubborn though. He started to run away from Ace and shooting cauldrons at Riddle, but the prefect kept defending himself, never once launch a counterattack.

Ace finally stood from the ground. His eyes widened. Riddle was open from behind. Ace held out this wand and chanting, “ ** _[Everte Statum]_**!” A ball of dark-light came out from his pen and shot straight toward Riddle, but a rose bush suddenly materialized behind him. Ace let out a curse.

“So...” Riddle stood up straight again, slowly turned around to face Ace. “You dare to attack me from the back...” With a scream, Riddle slammed his staff to the ground and vines shot up from bellow Ace and Deuce. The two boys were screaming being held up three feet above the ground. Deuce was hanging upside down while Ace was being choked.

“Gck...”

Riddle’s smile started to turn mad. “Not so brave now, are you, Ace Trappola?”

“Senior Rosehearts!” Jonah yelled looked back and forth from Riddle to Ace and Deuce. “This has gone too far!” He pushed Trey out of the way, ignoring the others shouting his name, and ran straight to the hole that Deuce and Riddle had made.

“Stay out of the way!” Riddle pointed at Jonah, making the boy who just entered the arena stopped. “No outsider allowed in the battle!” He glared at the boy. “You dare to break the rule too?!”

“You still want to follow the rule even when your subjects are in danger?!” Jonah yelled back.

Riddle scoffed at him. “Anyone who breaks the rule will always amount to nothing, just like what mother said.” He stepped forward. “They have to receive equal punishment for every rule they had broken... Those who break the rules have no right to complain to me for I am this dorm’s absolute rule!”

From behind Riddle, Deuce aimed his pen toward Ace. “ ** _[Lacarnum Inflamari]_** …” Fire blasted from his wand, burning the vine that was choking Ace before working on his own. The ginger-head fell to the ground, coughing. He lifted his head, watching Riddle slowly advancing toward Jonah.

Jonah stepped back. “You can’t keep using the rules as an excuse to do whatever you want!”

“What do you know?” Riddle screamed back. “No one will follow lenient rules! What sort of lessons were you taught that you can’t even understand something as simple as this?”

“That’s-”

Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, silencing him. A cruel smile grazed his face. “I bet you were born from parents who can’t even use magic. I’m sure that you didn’t receive any proper education before you stepped foot in this school. How pathetic, truly.”

Jonah’s breath hitched. _How could... How could he say that..._ He opened his mouth, but someone beat him first.

“SHUT UP!”

_*PUNCH!*_

“RIDDLE!”

“M-Mister Rosehearts!”

“He… He punched the prefect?!”

Riddle clutched his nose with widened eyes. Blood dripped between his fingers. _Who did that?!_ It came so fast he didn’t even say who did it.

“You can be cruel to me!”

_Oh. Now he knows._

“You can put that collar around me for the rest of my life! But don’t you dare trash talk the captain! He’s a hundred times better than you’ll ever be!”

Ace stood in front of Jonah, red fist raised. His face looked wild, at the edge of exploding. Deuce quickly ran to Ace’s side. He was still shocked at what Ace just did, but he was also mad at Riddle. _How dare he said something like that? That was a whole new level of bad._

Grim flew and landed on Jonah’s shoulder. “Hmmph! You deserve that punch!”

Jonah stared at the boys in front of them. “Guys...”

“Kids aren’t their parents’ trophies. Your parents aren’t the ones who get to decide what you’re worth. I finally understand that you being a trashy person, it wasn’t your mom or dad’s fault at all!” Ace screamed, pointing his magical pen at the shocked Riddle. “You’ve been at this school for a year and the one to blame is that bastard you call a friend doesn’t do anything and ignored everything!

You didn’t make a single friend to tell you off for being a tyrant in the past year, this is your damn fault!”

Riddle slowly lowered his hand from his face. “What… Are you saying…?”

“Growing up under your obsessive mother was probably some kind of hell, but is ‘mama this, mama that’ all you can say?! You’re not capable of thinking for yourself!? To hell with that ‘Crimson Tyrant’ bullshit! You’re just a baby who happens to be gifted with magic!”

“Baby, you say… Me?!” Riddle’s hands curled up into a fist. “You know nothing …”

_Ace doesn’t know all those things he had to endure... All those times he was locked up because he fell asleep while studying... All those times his hands were smacked when he ate too much... All those disappointed looks his mother gave him because he couldn’t live up to the expectation he wanted…_

Riddle wiped the blood off his nose with his sleeve. “You don’t know anything about me!”

Ace rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t. I don’t know a damn thing! Do you think I’d know anything with that attitude of yours? I’m not letting you off the hook!”

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! SILENCE!” Riddle screamed with flushed cheeks. “Mother taught me everything! She’s right in everything! I did everything she said, therefore I am also right!”

“Riddle, calm down.” Trey finally decided to enter the arena, stopping just a few feet behind Riddle. “The duel is already over!”

“Mister Clover is right.” Jonah felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, Crowley wasn’t looking at him, but toward the angry Riddle. “The challenger is disqualified for his outburst. Continuing to escalate goes against school regulations!”

“I agree with the newbie!” Cater looked at the audience. One of the Heartslabyul students was sitting on the ground, clutching his head, his body trembling. “I’ve had enough of this, too!”

_*splat*_

Everyone froze. Slowly Riddle lifted his hand to grab something that his the back of his head. It was a yellow goo and it had a disgusting smell.

Riddle squeezed the goo in his hand. “Who did this…?” He turned to the other student. “Who dares to throw this rotten egg at me?!”

…

…

…

“Oh.” Riddle lowered his head. “So this is what you choose… You think you’re the only one suffering here…” He raised his head, staring at everybody. “YOU THINK I’M NOT TIRED FROM DEALING WITH TROUBLEMAKERS LIKE YOU! NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WARNED YOU, NO MATTER HOW STRICT I’VE GOTTEN, YOU ALL KEPT BREAKING THE RULES!”

Jonah, to be honest, was terrified. He had never seen someone so angry to this degree before. “Gck…” He grabbed his eye-patch. His eye underneath was throbbing as Riddle continued to speak. _Why did he have a bad feeling about this?_

“Every single one of you…” Riddle raised his staff. A magic circle started to glow underneath him. “You’re all just idiots who think about yourselves!” His smile widened. “Very well. If no one will admit, then I’ll have you all take responsibility! Off with all your heads! **_[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

He slammed his staff to the ground and the magic circle underneath him expanded. Every spectator who got hit by the circle suddenly found themselves being collared by Riddle’s magic collar. The rose garden suddenly became darker. Debris and petals that came from the previous battle suddenly started floating into the air.

“AHHHH! RUN AWAY!”

“Urk! The collar is-!”

Riddle laughed wildly, looking at the chaos unfolded. “AHAHAHA! How’s that! Now, none of you can raise a hand against me! I’m the only one who’s right because I protect the rules!”

“Please stop, Mister Rosehearts!” ordered Crowley. “Violating the rules is unlike you at all!”

“Oh, now you’re just throwing a tantrum!” Ace shouted again. “This why you are a baby!”

“SHUT UP!” Riddle screamed at him, pointing his staff toward Ace. “TAKE THAT BACK BEFORE I CHOP YOUR HEAD OFF!”

“Come and get me, you twerp!”

“Riddle, enough!” Trey suddenly grabbed Riddle’s arm. Riddle was surprised at this. He turned his head toward Trey who looked mad and worried at the same time. “You’re only hurting yourself. Look at everyone’s faces!”

Everyone around them was terrified, to be honest. Whispers filled the air, all coming from the poor spectators.

“He was serious about skewering him…”

“That’s going too far…”

“He… He’s a monster…”

“Riddle.” Trey tried to talk to him softer. “Calm down and listen to what they’re saying-”

“Are you betraying me, Trey?”

“What?”

Riddle stared at him with eyes filled with anger, but at the same time, Trey could see a trace of sadness in them. “Are you saying that I’m wrong, too?” Riddle pulled his arm back and stepped away from his childhood friend. “Even after I did my best to enforce all those strict rules?! Even after I’ve endured so, so, so many things!”

Riddle gripped his staff tighter. There were some black spots on his red gem, but slowly the blackness expanded, nearly covering the whole gem.

“I won’t… I will never… I WILL NEVER BELIEVE IT!”

“You mustn’t, Mister Rosehearts!” Crowley pushed Jonah back as Ace and Deuce took out their magical pen, ready to fight back. “If you use your magic further, your magic jewel will become tainted with blot!”

But Riddle wasn’t listening. His face was already as red as his hair. He was shouting, not listening to anyone. None of the headmaster’s words reached his ears.

“I am…! I ALONE AM–! I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO IS RIGHT!”

“RIDDLE!”

As Trey’s scream echoed through the garden, the small red gem on Riddle’s staff broke like glass. Black ink-like liquid came out from his staff, trapping him in a black cocoon before bursting out a huge energy wave that sent everyone flying back with a scream. Cater screamed to others to get down Ace and Deuce immediately threw themselves to the ground. Crowley immediately hugged Jonah, protecting him and Grim who tucked himself between them. Trey was too stubborn to back down, he stayed standing up with trembling knees.

When the liquid slowly uncovered, what they saw was no longer Riddle Rosehearts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> Are you guys ready for the final battle tomorrow?  
> I'm worried...


	28. Rampaging Prefect! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ME (stare at Overblot Riddle): "Are you sure we’re not in Madoka Magica?"

_The monster in front of them is not Riddle Rosehearts. There is just no way this was the same Riddle Rosehearts._

His hair and eyes were as red as blood, a small veil cover his left glowing eyes, connected to his black crown on his head. He was wearing a torn-up black-and-red dress which was open on the front part, showing his tight pants and knee-high boots, with two black belts on his corset. The dress had a white collar and black spikes, and he also had a heart-shaped choker around his neck. The hips part is decorated with white roses, tainted by black ink, with ribbon with card motive. His arms have splotches of inks, forming a pair of sticky black gloves around his hand. His legs and knee-high boots and covered by black inks.

“Se... Senior Rosehearts...”

Jonah’s voice sounded small but was not unheard of by ‘Rosehearts’. He turned his head toward him, lips curled up into a sickening grin.

**_“HaHaHaHaHaHa! ThOsE FoOlIsH EnOuGh tO DiSoBeY Me, I HaVe nO NeEd oF ThEm iN My wOrLd. I Am tHe lAw iN My wOrLd, I Am tHe rUlEs! No oThEr rEsPoNsE ThAt ‘YeS, lOrD RiDdLe’ Is aCcEpTaBlE! iT'S OfF WiTh tHe hEaDs oF AnYoNe wHo dIsObEyS Me! AhAhAhAhAhAhA!”_ **

“Ah, how could this happen?!” Crowley wooed, still shielding Jonah. “A student had gone into overblot right in front of me!”

“What the hell is overblot?” Grim asked in a panic. None of them realized that the sealing collar around their neck had disappeared. “That guy’s turned completely evil now!”

“Overblot is the one situation that all magicians should avoid,” Crowley explained. “Right now, he’s being enveloped by so much negative energy that he’s lost control over his emotions and magic.”

“I don’t get it, though!” Grim yelled.

“Me, too!” Deuce added.

Cater groaned. “Ah, geez! In other words, it’s like an evil villain berserker mode!”

“If this goes on, Riddle’s life will be in danger!” Trey said, looking at Riddle in fear.

_His life?_

_Senior Rosehearts could... Die?_

A thought suddenly came into Jonah’s mind. _Senior Rosehearts will die… That’s a bad thing, right? Even if they’re in a bad term, they can’t just leave him like this… Can they?_

_Dying is… A bad thing?_

_Don’t die…_

“We... We have to...” The boy clenched his fist, gritting his teeth at the thoughts. He lowered his head, bangs covering his eyes.

“Right now the safety of other students is the top priority,” Crowley said, slowly letting go of Jonah’s shoulders. “I shall evacuate the other residents! Mister Rosehearts must be brought back to his senses before his magic consumes him. Losing his life is an absolute bad scenario, but worse than that…” He shook his head. He didn’t dare to continue what he was saying. “In any case, you boys go get the rest of the staff and prefects to help control the situation–”

“No.”

“Argentum?” Crowley watched Jonah as he was being pushed away by the boy.

Slowly he lifted his head, staring straight at Riddle, challenging his presence. “Ace, Deuce, Grim, gather around me!”

The three students who were called by him turned toward him. “Jonah?!” Ace asked.

Jonah ripped his eye-patch off his head, revealing his yellow-and-red eyes once again. They always seemed to listen to him when he revealed his eye. It made him feel like the one in charge above them. And he needed them to listen to him right now. “This is your captain’s order! All hands on deck!”

The three of them looked at each other. It was clear that Jonah won’t back down this time. He stood up tall without an ounce of fear. His voice was filled with confidence and authority, refuse to take ‘no’ as an answer. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, ready for battle, ready to lead them. _It was like at the Dwarfs’ Mine again..._

The three of them exchange grins. _If their captain wants a battle, then the whole crew will follow him._ “Aye, aye, Captain!”

“Wait a minute, you boys!” Crowley yelled at them. “That is dangerous!”

“Senior Rosehearts is going to lose his life, Headmaster,” Jonah said in a surprisingly calm but firm voice. “We can’t let that happen.”

“I still haven’t heard him say ‘It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry’ to me!” Ace grinned from ear to ear, preparing his wand again.

“Besides!” Grim stood on all four to top of Jonah’s head, smoke coming out from his nostrils. “It’s not cool at all to lose to people we challenge!”

“This is probably the only to make him come back to his senses,” Deuce added in all serious tone. “There’s no way I can sleep peacefully with him like this.”

Trey looked at the three underclassmen. _Two of the group don’t really like Riddle. But, to see them willingly face against probably the hardest being in their life..._

He reached for his magical pen. _He can’t take it anymore... He can’t stay silent again... Not when his childhood friend is in danger!_

“What is your plan, Jonah?” Trey said.

Cater turned his head toward his friend in shock. “What are you saying, Trey? There’s no way you can beat Riddle!”

“Maybe... But I can’t lose him yet. I...” He clenched his magical pen hard. “I have so much to tell him!”

“Senior Diamond. Help the headmaster evacuate!” Jonah commanded. “We need to get everyone out here!”

Cater looked at the boy as if he just offended him. He looked at Trey again, begging him not to fight. But, Trey just nodded, a sign just too follows. “Ah, damn it!” he said in frustration. “I get it already. There’s no other way, huh?” He turned to Crowley. “Headmaster!”

Crowley watched as Trey moved closer to Jonah, who already had Ace, Deuce, and Grim on his side. The boy glanced briefly at him, telling him to hurry and make his decision. With a sigh, Crowley finally nodded. “Alright. As soon as I finish evacuating the other students, I’ll be back! So please stay safe until then, all of you!”

Cater raised his magical pen, summoning magic circles around him. “ ** _[Split Card]_**!” One copy of himself emerged from each circle. “Let’s go!” With that he and the headmaster ran from the battlefield, leaving the small group of magicians under the angry eye of the corrupted prefect.

**_“This guy, ThAt gUy, TrEy... YoU AlL HaVe sOmE NeRvE... I’ll TaKe aLl oF YoUr hEaD!”_ **

He thrust his hand out, black ink came out from his fingers, aiming straight at the group.

“Senior Clover!” shouted Jonah. Trey already knew what to do. He ran in front of the gang and pointed his magical pen toward the attack, a magic circle appeared to bellow his feet.

“ ** _[Doodle Suit]_**!” he shouted as colorful light appeared from the crystal of the wand, clashing with Riddle’s ink, turning them into playing cards.

**_“DOn’t gEt iN my wAy, TrEy!”_ **

The growl sent a shiver down Trey’s spine, but he didn’t dare to back down. Around them, the rose bushes started to move, roots climbing up from the ground, and branches lowered. Like zombies, the rose bush puppet-like monsters started to walk toward the gang.

“Ace, Grim, Senior Clover! Cover us!” shouted Jonah.

Ace grinned wider, summoning his magic circle. “Eat this!” He waved his magical pen, blowing the nearby rose-bush-zombie away.

Grim jumped off Jonah’s head. “Fugya~!” He spat fireballs on every rose bush that his eyes caught, burning them to ashes.

“Ha!” Trey waved his wand, changing the rose bush that nearing Deuce and Jonah into harmless playing cards. He could hear Riddle let out a booming laugh, mocking them.

**_“hahahahahaha! I Am aBsOlUt... No one sHaLl sTaNd aGaInSt mE!”_ **

“We’ll see about that,” Jonah said, lips pulled up. “Deuce, cauldron!”

Deuce summoned his magic circle in front of him. “Haaaa...” He snapped his eyes open. “ ** _[Fire away]_**! **_[Cauldron]_**!” A large-sized cauldron shot out from the magic circle, hitting Riddle straight in the face. The prefect let out a scream of pain, his head was thrown backward from the attack.

“Ace, trap him!” shouted Jonah. Ace blew the nearest rose bush before turning to Riddle.

“I’m gonna catch you, you little gremlin!” he growled, summoning the wind around Riddle, forming into a ball of wind, trapping the prefect in it. Riddle trashed around the ball, screaming in anger and unleashing his ink attacks. But none of his struggles managed to make a loose in the ball.

Ace grinned at him. “Hah! Can’t do anything now.”

Riddle kept growling, fist clenched hand, and Jonah noticed his glowing eyes became brighter.

**_“EvErY SiNgLe oNe oF YoU ArE GeTtInG AhEaD Of yOuRsElVeS... oFf wItH YoUr hEaDs!”_ **

“Watch out!” warned Jonah, but Riddle already made his move. With a roar, Riddle unleashed dark light around him, cutting himself free from Ace’s wind prison. Behind him, a silhouette was formed, a figure in a red dress and a heart-shaped head filled with ink and a golden crown on top of it.

“What the hell is that?!” yelled Ace, partially still in shock that his trap was broken.

**_“I’M ThE OnLy oNe wHo’s always RiGhT! If nOt, ThEn aLl tHaT I’Ve wOrKeD FoR WaS...!”_ **

Riddle let out a high-pitched whine, raising his right hand and the silhouette, like a shadow, followed Riddle, raising its left rose-bush arm. Riddle thrust his arm forward and the shadow followed him, swinging the rose-bush arm toward the group.

“Look out!” Trey pushed Jonah out of the way, letting himself get hit by the rose bush hand. He let out a pained scream, feeling the thorns cutting his skin.

Jonah pulled himself up from the ground. _How did he miss that?!_ He looked up to Trey who was on the ground. “Senior Clover!”

**_“TrEy... YoU TrAiToR...”_ **

Trey, still on the ground, looked up to his childhood friend. “Riddle-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence for Riddle ink tentacle shot out and wrapped itself around Trey’s neck. The young man let out a strangled breath. _He couldn’t breathe._ Riddle was choking him too hard. And the boy didn’t even realize it. He stared at the red eyes. _They looked... hurt..._

**_“HoW CoUlD YoU...”_ **

“Get away from him!” A magic circle appeared in front of Deuce again, pointing his pen straight at Riddle’s chest. “ ** _[Blast off]_**! **_[Cauldron]_**!” He shot a cauldron straight at Riddle. The prefect didn’t get to defend himself. He screamed, pulled back his ink tentacle, letting Trey fell to the ground.

“Trey!” Someone suddenly appeared and caught Trey before he touched the ground. It was Cater. When they finally escorted the last remaining students out of Heartslabyul, Cater immediately excused himself to help his friends. He arrived just in time when Deuce released his cauldron.

**_“TrAiToR... aLl oF YoU ArE!”_ **

“Is there a limit to this guy’s magic?” Ace screamed.

“We need to finish this as soon as possible,” Jonah muttered, standing up again. “He has to have a weakness...” His eyes darted around Riddle, trying to find something that could be his weak spot. _Maybe the heart corset? The choker? The crown? The-_

_Wait._

_There._

Riddle’s eye. _The one covered by the vile. The one that was glowing with red light, was now flickering, from red to gray to red..._

“His eyes...” Jonah’s eyes widened. A plan forming in his head. “Senior Diamond! Can you do a flying spell?”

Cater looked up from Trey, who was barely conscious, to Jonah. “To make you fly? Yes.”

“Good. We’re gonna need it!” He ran toward the other three. “Deuce, prepare as many cauldrons as you can around Senior Rosehearts!” Deuce nodded, gathering his power, summoning as many magic circles as he could.

Jonah turned to Grim and Ace. “Grim, prepare you fireballs! Ace, you think you can make them explode like a bomb?”

“I can try!” said Ace.

Jonah nodded. _Good enough._ He glanced at the other seniors, focusing on Trey. “Senior Clover. Can you still fight?”

“Dude-”

“Yes...” Trey groaned, cutting Cater off, slowly sitting up. He looked up at Jonah and nodded. “Yes. I can!”

Jonah nodded. “I’ll need you to protect us.”

Trey nodded again. Slowly with the help from Cater, he stood up, magical pen gripped tightly in his hand. He looked up to Riddle who was screaming angrily at them.

**_“YoU aLl wIlL ReGrEt aNgErInG ThE QuEeN!”_ **

“Well, down with the bloody red queen!” Jonah screamed in response.

Triggered, Riddle raised his arms, summoning his army of rose bush again. Jonah had prepared this. “Ace, Grim, Deuce, prepare the canons! Senior Clover! Defend!”

Trey moved to action, running to Jonah and back pressed again the smaller boy protecting him from behind. “ ** _[Doodle Suit]_**!” Using his magic, he changed the approaching rose bushes into cards again.

“ ** _[Split Card]_**!” Cater shouted, summoning his copies once again to protect the underclassman who was already working on their part.

“ ** _[Come forth]_**! **_[Cauldrons]_**!” Deuce raised his magical pen as the cauldrons emerged from each of the magic circle.

Grim flew above them, avoiding Riddle’s ink tentacles attack. “Fugyaa~!” He shot multiple fireballs, aiming for each cauldron.

“Haah...!” Ace waved his magical pen like a baton, summoning the wind around the fireball, holding them in a small wind sphere, forming a ‘bomb’ inside each cauldrons-‘cannons’.

**_“StoP GeTtInG In mY WaY! i’lL CuT YoUr hEaDs oFf!”_ **

“All cauldron loaded, Captain!” shouted Ace.

Jonah took the signal. “Senior Diamond! Float them everywhere!”

Cater waved his magical pen, summoning magic circles underneath him and each cauldron. “ ** _[Wingardium Leviosa]_**!” The cauldron began to float and Cater positioned them in the air around Riddle, all aiming toward the prefect.

**_“NnNnNoOoOoOoO!”_ **

“Fire the cannon!” shouted Jonah, pointing forward. Ace then screamed, clapping his hands together, shooting the fire from inside the cauldron at an intense speed like a cannonball. The blast hit Riddle everywhere, his body, his face, his shadow. He was unable to avoid them, unable to stop screaming.

One of the blasts managed to hit Riddle right on his flickering eyes.

**_“AaAaAaRrRrGgGhHh!”_ **

Jonah could hear a glass break. He didn’t know where it came from, but he knew they had done something.

**_“I WaS... wRoNg...? tHaT’S NoT TrUe... Is iT...? MoThEr...”_ **

Riddle let out another scream as something black came out from his eyes. Black, slimy, tart-like ink flowed out, along with all the ink from the prefect’s body, revealing the poor boy in his torn-up dorm uniform. The limp body fell down the ground, but Trey, who was screaming for Riddle’s name, managed to caught the smaller boy in his arms and fell onto his knees.

While both seniors were busy with the prefect, the first years focused on the ink, slithering in the air like a snake. Without anyone expecting, the ink suddenly shot itself toward Jonah. Nobody was anticipating this, not even Jonah, they all froze in their place when the ink suddenly hit Jonah in his right eye.

Jonah could felt his mouth moved, forming a gasp, and his body fell backward. He didn’t feel any pain, which was a surprise for him. He could barely make out whoever screaming for his name.

_And then, suddenly, everything faded away..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to watch 'Madoka' in order to write this chapter.
> 
> Fun fact, the day I finished writing the first chapter of this arc, I immediately wrote this one, because I just need to write my favorite scene in the whole arc! But how does one write a boss battle scene? This was hard! I hope you guys enjoy it though… I tried my best.


	29. Child in the Depths! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jonah traveled through Riddle's Memory Labyrinth.

When Jonah opened his eyes, everything was dark. He still could feel the dirt underneath him, but he couldn’t see the sky above him. _Is he still in the rose maze? Why he can’t hear anyone?_ Slowly he got up, looking around.

_Wait a minute._

_This is not the rose maze._

He wasn’t even sure he was still at Night Raven College. Everything around him was black except a single tree in front of him. There was a door-shaped hole on the tree, and beyond it, was a grayscale maze similar to what he saw in his strange vision.

_Where is everyone?_

There was no other way except, so Jonah took the risk and stepped into the tree. The rose maze was narrow, unlike the one in Heartslabyul, making him felt as if the bushes were about to crush him. After a long walk, he soon found a rose arc bush. The roses were the only thing colorful in this greyscale world, so of course, it would take Jonah’s attention.

Though, he wasn’t expecting _THIS_ when he looked past the arc.

It was like a disconnected world. Instead of a part of the maze or maybe a garden, he found a fancy study behind the arc. In the study, there were two people, one was a lady in a beautiful dress. She was standing next to the table while holding a small cake with eight lit up candles on top of it. And sitting on a chair in front of the table was…

“Senior… Rosehearts…?”

He recognized that ahoge anywhere. He looked so tiny, still a child, dressed in fancy clothes. His hair and shining grey eyes were the only things colorful in this study.

“Happy eighth birthday, Riddle!” the woman cheered as she put the cake in front of the tiny Rosehearts. “For this year, your birthday cake is a sugar-free one filled with nuts. It’s made from soy flour with lots of lecithin since it’s good for the brain.”

“Thank you, Mama.” Riddle tried to smile. His hands were playing with the front of this blazer. “But, um, I…” He looked up to the lady with eyes filled with hope. “Just once is okay, but… I really want to try a tart filled with lots of red strawberries…”

The woman gasped. “My, how can you say such a thing?! Desserts filled with sugar like that are basically like poison for the body.” She walked around Roseheart’s chair. The boy looked down at his shoes when he felt the woman held his shoulder from behind the chair. “Just one slice of that thing will exceed your ideal intake of carbohydrates!”

The woman looked down at the boy, giving his shoulders a light squeeze. It wasn’t supposed to hurt, but she managed to make Rosehearts flinched. “And for today’s dinner, we’ll be having sautéd tuna with plenty of docosahexaenoic acid and icosapentaenoic acid. It’s much healthier than a strawberry tart! Ah, but the recommended calorie intake for an 8-year old is… Less than 600kcal for one meal, so don’t eat more than 100 grams.” She looked down at the boy again. “Am I understood?”

He gave her a weak nod. “Yes, Mama…”

“Good boy!” she cheered, definitely satisfied with his answer. “Now, blow your candle~”

Riddle let out a weak chuckle and pulled himself closer to the cake. With one blow, the candles went off, along with everything in the room, leaving Jonah standing there, bewildered.

_Was that… Was that Senior Rosehearts’ memory? Is he currently in Senior Rosehearts’ mind right now? How did this happen? The last thing he remembered was the cannons went off and they saved the prefect, and then-_

Jonah gasped. He reached his right eye. _Sweet Nebula! That gooey-thing went straight in there!_ He rubbed his eye rapidly, hoping that he could take it out. But the thing was… _It didn’t hurt. His eye felt normal. Or was it not normal at all if he didn’t feel any pain?_

He looked up again, hoping to see the scene again, only to find a straight path again. With nowhere to go, he walked through the path. As he walked, he thought back at the scene he had seen earlier.

 _That was Senior Rosehearts’ mother_? Senior Clover did say that his mother decides everything Senior Rosehearts’ eats, wears, and does. _Does that mean she’s a good mother?_ But everyone seemed bothered because of this. Jonah knew nobody wanted to follow so many rules, but still, rules were made to protect them… _right?_

_He wonders what his mother looks like though… Was she like Senior Rosehearts’ mother? Or the opposite?_

He soon found another rose arc bush. He immediately ran toward it and looked through it. It was another scene in the study. Little Senior Rosehearts was writing something on his book, while his mother explained things on the blackboard. “That is all for your lessons on classical magic today,” she said, closing the book in her hand. In turn, Senior Rosehearts stopped writing and looked up toward her. “You have until tomorrow to review the magical ethics that you learned today and get through the next 50 pages of your language philosophy text.”

Riddle nodded. “Yes, Mama.”

She smiled at him. She looked proud. “I’ll give you an hour to study for your next potion lesson. I’ll be back soon. I have an errand I need to do.”

With that, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Jonah watched Senior Rosehearts walked up to his giant bookshelf and traded the previous book with a new one before returning to his seat. He started reading, but Jonah also noticed that he was tapping his index finger onto the table at a perfect pace as if he was counting each second that had passed.

_*tick*_

_*tick*_

Senior Rosehearts looked up to the window. Someone was throwing some pebble onto it. Instead of looking angry like Jonah thought he would do, Senior Roseheart smiled and his eyes lit up. He ran to the window and opened it. “You came!”

Jonah looked over Senior Rosehearts and saw two kids. A tiny version of Senior Clover and Che’nya stood in the garden below the window. Tiny Che’nya was holding a croquet mallet and a plastic ball, while Tiny Senior Clover was holding two mallets.

“Of course, we came, nya~” Che’nya said while throwing-and-catching the ball in his hand. “So, your mommew is gone?”

Riddle nodded, his smile slowly become wider. “I’ll have an hour before my next lesson.”

Che’nya grinned. “Then, come down here and play~”

Riddle laughed. “Okay!”

Jonah had never seen Senior Rosehearts so happy like this. He watched the little boy ran to the door, not bothering to close it behind him. Looking out the window again, Jonah watched as Senior Rosehearts tried his best to hit the plastic ball. Senior Trey helped him while Che’nya was being the competitive one. Senior Rosehearts finally managed to hit the ball, earning him a score. With one last smile, the scene disappeared.

Jonah couldn’t help but smile, seeing such a precious scene in front of him. Senior Trey did say that they were childhood friends, so Jonah could guess that they played more after that. Senior Rosehearts must’ve found a loophole in his strict study hours to play and relax his mind.

_Wait…_

_Does that mean that Senior Rosehearts went against his mother’s rule?_

A new path had opened, so Jonah walked through it, walking faster to find another rose arc bush. Jonah couldn’t get rid of the worries that had settled in his chest. _Why does he have this feeling that this won’t end well? If this was Senior Rosehearts’ past, would whatever happen after this changed him into the tyrant he was famous for?_

As soon as he found the next rose arc bush, he walked through it. This time, he found himself in a small homey bakery. At the table at the corner, he saw the children with a slice of strawberry tart in front of each of them.

“I can’t believe Riddle has never eaten a strawberry tart!” exclaimed Che’nya.

Riddle pouted nervously. “Mama says it’s poison for the body, so I’m not allowed to eat them.”

Senior Clover pouted. “Well, of course, it’s bad if you eat too much.” He pushed Senior Rosehearts’ plate closer to the boy. “Just try it.”

Senior Rosehearts nodded and pick up his fork. He sliced the tip with a strawberry on it and put it into his mouth. “Ah~ Hap!” Riddle’s eyes widened. It was like an explosion in his mouth. The shiny strawberry was sweet, though a bit sour, but the cream cheese and crunchy crust made up for it.

“How is it?” Senior Clover asked. There was a hint of worry in his tone of voice.

Senior Rosehearts closed his eyes in delight. “Hmm~ It’s so good!”

Senior Trey let out a sigh of relief while Che’nya laughed. “See, Trey? Everyone loves your baking!”

Senior Rosehearts took another bite, savoring the flavors in his mouth. This was his first experience eating something as sweet as this. They were too busy in their world of sweet and childish conversations that they never realized the bell of the bakery rang when the door was opened.

But Jonah realized that, so he turned around, and his blood ran cold, for he saw Senior Rosehearts’ mother standing there, an angry look on her face. She took one step and the scene disappeared, revealing a new path.

 _No no no no no._ _This couldn’t be good._ Jonah started running. He needed to find the next rose arc bush. He needed to know what happens next. He needed to know what drove Senior Rosehearts to be a tyrant. _He needs to know!_

He ran straight through the next rose arc bush when he found one and found himself in a different room. It was a bedroom, with shelves filled with books but he could spot a single fluffy stuffed rabbit on the bed. This could be a kid’s room. _Maybe this was Senior Rosehearts’ room?_

_*BANG!*_

Jonah looked toward the opened door. He saw Senior Rosehearts’ mother dragging his son inside the bedroom by his arm. ”How could you!” she snapped. “Not only did you skip out on studying to play, but you also ate something so sugary!?”

Senior Rosehearts was crying and looked terrified. He tried to pull his arm away, but his mother’s grip was too hard. He flinched when she continued. “Those two tempted you into doing it, didn’t they? I won’t allow you to spend time with those naughty children ever again!”

“I’m sorry, Mama!” he cried. “I’ll never do it again! Please forgive me-”

“Quiet!” she snapped as she threw her son. Senior Rosehearts tripped his footing and fell to the carpet floor of the room. “You’re the one at fault because you broke the rules! So, you’ll stay here until you have learned your lesson.” She sighed massaging her temple. She was mumbling when she walked out. “Ah, I knew I shouldn’t have given him so much free time. He must be trained more to become more perfect…”

Senior Rosehearts tried to follow his mother, but the bedroom door was slammed in his face, the sound of a lock could be heard from the other side. “Mama!” he cried, banging the door. “Mama, please! I’m sorry! I’ll be good! I’ll follow the rule! I’ll be a good boy! Please, open the door!”

He never got his answer. In his despair, he sunk to his knees, forehead pressed against the door, his tiny fist dropped to his lap. “Please… Please…”

The painful scene soon disappeared. _Now Jonah understands why_. _Senior Rosehearts… He never had a choice but to follow the rules. If he goes against them, he would be punished. That was cruel._ Even if Jonah couldn’t remember his parent, he knew that this isn’t how parents should treat their children, to demand the young ones to fulfill their high expectations. All those stress build up all those years brought Senior Rosehearts to his overblot state. And they saved him.

_But… Did they though?_

He finally reached the end of the path and found another rose arc bush at the end. This time he could hear some sound. _Like…a crowd?_ Walking past the arc, he was prepared for another painful memory, but what he found was something entirely different.

It reminded him of the last Queen of Heart vision. He arrived in a rose garden, styled like a courtroom. But this time, he wasn’t standing on the jury box, he was in the tall judge’s stand as if he was the Queen of Heart herself. Looking down, he felt a gasp escaped his mouth. On the smaller stand in front of him, stood an older version of Senior Rosehearts, taking place as the previous girl. The jury box was filled with various bird and card soldiers surrounded them.

“Your Honor!” Jonah looked down as a white rabbit jumped toward the front of the stand. “We are waiting for your decision.”

Jonah looked around the room again and to the rabbit who was still waiting for his response. “Wait… Me?” He pointed at himself. _Is this real? Or another hallucination?_

“Yes. Your Honor!” said the white rabbit. “You’ve seen all the rules had been broken by this criminal, and now you decided the punishment fit for him.”

At word ‘criminal’ he could he Senior Rosehearts gritted his teeth along with the muttering of the crowd. From the jury’s stand, a flamingo stood up, pointing its wing at Riddle in anger. “Cut his head off!” it screamed. Some people in the crowd shouting in agreement, along with chants of ‘Off with his head!’ But Senior Rosehearts didn’t move an inch. He didn’t yell back or use his magic. _He’s just… Accepting all of this._

_He couldn’t take this any longer._

“Everyone shut up!” Jonah tried to yell, but nobody listened to him. “Shut up!” He looked on his stand and saw a hammer. He picked it up and slammed it to his stand rapidly with it. “Order! Order!”

The shouting stopped, but the whispers were still ongoing. Jonah took a deep breath and looked below him again. _Really? Was this really Senior Rosehearts’ fault? Wasn’t he the victim here?_ His mother probably had her reason to treat her son that way but no one, except Senior Rosehearts himself, knows the answer. This child was a product of his parent’s teaching. Without anyone calling out of his action, he thought that everything he does is right. He was a tyrant, yes, but he was following the rule because his parent taught him that. _So, does he deserve punishment?_

“The court has decided…” Everyone went silent and Senior Rosehearts looked up with a miserable face. “I find the defendant… NOT GUILTY!”

The crowd burst into a protest, spouting accusation after accusation of every Senior Rosehearts’ acts. But Jonah just calmly said, “He was just following what he believes what’s right. Is that against the rule?”

Everyone paused.

“Yes, his methods are cruel, but he’s just doing his duty.” He looked down at Senior Rosehearts, who was staring at him with wide grey eyes. Jonah gave him a small smile. “He never breaks the rule. And according to the law, he’s innocent.”

The crowd murmured in agreement. Senior Rosehearts was still staring at him in confusion.

“Why?”

Jonah smiled warmly at him. “You’re a good guy, Senior Rosehearts. You just need the perfect guidance.” Jonah lifted his hammer again. “Therefore, Riddle Rosehearts… You are free from any punishment.”

He slammed the hammer onto his stand again twice, and then everything went black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I just made Riddle’s flashback worse.  
> I have nothing to say about this scene. It was all improvised, but a few tinkering in tiny-Che’nya and Trey part.  
> And I don’t know how courtroom trial work. The only trial I know is from Danganronpa.


	30. Early Summer-Rain Honesty! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of an overblot is basically just a therapy.

When Jonah opened his eyes, he could see the brick ceiling above him. The light was dimed, but it wasn’t too blurry. He scrunched his eyes, trying to get rid of the blurriness when heard movement on his side. Opening his eyes again, a face suddenly popped up.

“Jonah!” Grim was staring at him with a worried expression, something that Jonah never thought would see from him.

“Grim...” he whispered back. Slowly he raised his hand and the demon-raccoon nudged his head onto his palm. Grim let out a purr as he nuzzled into his palm as Jonah had to blink repeatedly to make sure he was wide away. _Huh… Grim was never been this affectionate. Well, it’s never too late to learn new things._

Soon, two more heads popped up. “Good to see you awake, Captain,” Ace said, his voice calmer than before, while Deuce sighed in relief. The two Heartslabyul students smiled at him which made Jonah smiled back.

“We’re not in Heartslabyul anymore, are we?” he asked.

“No.” Deuce shook his head. “We took you to the school infirmary.”

He heard a sound of footsteps and soon the headmaster’s face popped up as well. Underneath the beak of his mask, he could see the man’s lips curled up as well and the glow of the yellow eyes seemed warmer. “How are you feeling, Mister Argentum?”

Jonah clenched and unclenched in fist underneath the blanket. He let out a groan. “Sore... Tired...”

Crowley nodded. “Can you sit up for a bit?”

Jonah tried to get up, but again, his whole body was sore all over. It felt like he just fell off his broom and got smashed under Deuce’s cauldron. Grim jumped off his stomach and sat beside him, while Ace and Deuce helped him sit up. Crowley took Jonah’s chin on one hand and use his others to check on his right eye. “Hmm...”

“Is there something wrong?” asked Jonah.

Crowley exanimated it for another few seconds before shaking his head. “No.” Crowley let go of Jonah’s chin and eye. “There’s nothing wrong.”

“But that ink thing just hit him in the eye!” shouted Ace. “Are you sure nothing wrong with him?”

Crowley smiled, reassuring him. “His eye is fine,” he said. “But, if you guys are really worried, we can make some potions for his eye-drop.”

Jonah nodded. “How’s...” His index finger started to tap his knee in uncertainty. “How’s Senior Rosehearts?”

The three of the crew looked at each other worriedly. “He hasn’t wake up since the overblot,” Deuce said as he stepped aside a bit. In the bed next to Jonah, lied Senior Rosehearts, eyes closed but breathing normally. He looks like he was just sleeping. But if he was, then Clover, who was sitting on the chair next to Rosehearts’ head, and Diamond, who stood at the feet of the bed, wouldn’t look so worried and desperate.

“Riddle...” Clover clutched the hand of the sleeping Heartlabyul Prefect, caressing the back of the gloveless hand with his thumb. Jonah noticed there were some bandages around his neck, probably from where Rosehearts had strangled him. He looked at Ace and Deuce. They also had some bandages in various places. Grim, Diamond and himself probably had the least between the groups. Even Rosehearts had bandages in most parts of his body, especially the gauzes around his head and right eye. _Hopefully, it wasn’t that bad…_

Diamond frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “What are we going to do if he doesn’t wake up?”

“He has to,” Clover quickly answered. He kept staring at the sleeping prefect. “He just has to.”

Ace plopped down beside Jonah. “Can’t believe he nearly killed us just because he throws tantrums when he gets scolded!” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and cheek slightly puffed up like a pouting child.

“Yeah... Just went wild ‘cause he needs to release stress, yanno...” Grim nodded as he climbed back to Jonah’s stomach, purring when the boy started to pet him. _Huh. He does care._

Deuce sighed. “That was certainly dangerous.”

Jonah massaged his temple feeling a headache coming. _They had a point..._ _Rosehearts nearly killed all of them, even before he overblotted. But still…_

Starring back at the sleeping prefect, Jonah couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity in his chest. _None of them, except himself and Rosehearts, actually knew what happened behind the scene. He was the only one in that rose maze of Rosehearts’ memories. He saw all of those. He knew why…_

“Why don’t we let them rest for the night?” Crowley suggested, bringing Jonah back from his deep thought.

Clover looked up. “But, Headmaster-”

Crowley walked toward Clover and put his hand on his shoulder. “They are not going anywhere,” he said with a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze. “We’ll come back tomorrow.”

Clover looked back to Rosehearts, clearly not wanting to leave his side. He then sighed and nodded. Diamond walked toward his fellow senior standing up. Clover bit his lips when Rosehearts’ hand slip from his. A sigh escaped from the greenette when he received no reaction. Diamond patted his shoulder before guiding him back, but his friends still stole glances at the sleeping prefect.

Jonah looked down at Grim. “Grim. You can stay with Ace and Deuce.”

The demon-raccoon raised his head. “Why?”

Jonah smiled at him. “I don’t want those ghosts to scare you if you’re alone there.”

Grim pouted, but then he nodded. “Alright...” He then flew to Deuce’s shoulder. Ace gave Jonah a small pat on the shoulder before getting up and walking out of the room with his fellow first-year.

Crowley was the last one to walk out. “Have some rest, Mister Argentum,” he said, to which Jonah answer with a nod. Crowley pulled the door, but not closing it entirely, there was still a small open gap.

Jonah let out another sigh. Winching, he threw his legs over the bed, slightly trembling when his shoeless feet touch the cold floor. His knees were shaking, but he kept walking toward Rosehearts’ bed, gripping the sheet to balance himself. He looked up to the redhead’s face. His eyes were still close, but listening closely, the breathing tempo was a bit off. “Are you awake, Senior Rosehearts?”

Nothing happened for a few seconds and Jonah was about to go back knowing he was wrong, but then Rosehearts let out a groan. Slowly, he opened his blue eyes, blinking slowly at him. “How did you know?” he whispered, voice slightly cracked.

Jonah shrugged. “A lucky guess.” He walked up closer to his head. “How are you feeling? And please be honest.”

Another groan came out of his mouth. “Terrible…” He tried to get up but the pained sound that came out made Jonah move and help him up.

“It’ll pass. I hope,” Jonah chuckled, trying to lighten the mood as he sat beside Rosehearts.

There was silence between them. The air was awkward. Jonah noticed the way Rosehearts kept clenching and unclenching his fists. _Did he want to say something?_ Jonah himself wanted to say something. _Maybe he should start first._

Jonah cleared his throat. “Senior Rosehearts. Can I ask something?”

The prefect looked up, a bit surprised but then he nodded. Jonah nodded back. “Is there something you want?”

Rosehearts tilted his head to the side, brow furrowed in confusion. _Of course. That was a weird question._ Jonah let out a weak chuckle before twisting his body so he was facing the other prefect for more focus. ”I mean… If you have the chance, is there something you really want to do?”

Rosehearts shook his head. “I’m not-”

“It’s okay.” Jonah reached out to hold Rosehearts’s right hand, frowning when the other flinched. “I won’t judge you.”

Rosehearts bit his lips and looked down, his left hand kept playing with his blanket. After a while, which Jonah thought he wouldn’t answer, Rosehearts finally whispered, “I... I really wanted to eat that mont blanc too...”

Jonah smiled. “You should try that. Maybe we can try making those.”

“Was it fun?” There was a small blush on Rosehearts’ cheek and he averted his gaze. “The baking… I mean.”

“It was.” Jonah chuckled. “Deuce had trouble with the piping and you should’ve seen Ace’s face when he nearly drops the hot pan.” Rosehearts looked confused, but that was okay. Jonah was just happy he managed to make him react to something. “Anything else?”

“I... I like white roses, too.”

“Do roses have different colors other than red and white?”

“They have pink, and yellow too. Also, green and orange. Sometimes lavender, novelty, salmon, peach, and cream. I heard that someone is trying to cultivate blue roses. They’re considered to have magical power.”

Jonah whistled. “Wow, that’s a lot.”

Rosehearts nodded. This time he looked up to him. “I once saw the lined them up to make a rainbow rose arc.”

“Must’ve been pretty.”

Rosehearts smiled a little, feeling nostalgic. “It was.”

“Speaking of colors, what color do you think is good on a flamingo?”

“Well, the Laws of the Queen of Heart-”

“No.” Jonah held Rosehearts’ hand tighter. “What do _you_ think is good for the flamingo?”

Rosehearts blinked again in confusion. But then, he looked down again. “Pink. I like the pink flamingos. It’s natural for them.”

Jonah nodded. “One day, you should teach me how to play that croquet game.”

“Trey taught me when we were kids. I had fun playing with him. I want...” Rosehearts gripped his blanket tighter. His voice began to crack. “I always want to play with them more... But, Mama...” He sniffled. “Mama always says not to play too much... If I play too much, I wouldn’t have time to study... And if I don’t study... Then I can’t make my family proud...”

“Why is that?”

Rosehearts whipped his wet eyes with his sleeve, but the tears just kept on flowing. “The... In the Rose Kingdom, women are superior to men... That’s why... Mama always says that I have to be better... I have to be better and better... If not... I’ll be left behind from the other... And I can’t...”

Sobs began to fill the room. Rosehearts didn’t even bother to wipe off the tears that fall down his cheeks. Jonah pulled Rosehearts down, letting his head rested on his lap. He didn’t mind if his pants became wet, Senior Rosehearts needs this. He probably never experienced this. Never had the chance to actually cry.

“You must be tired, huh?” Jonah whispered, running his hand through Rosehearts’ red hair.

“I’m tired...” he whispered back between his sobs and sniffles. “I’m so tired... I want to sleep... I want to play with the other... I just want to talk with more people... I just...” Rosehearts turned his head and looked up to Jonah. “Is there any rule... Is there any rule for me to get rid of this pain...?”

 _Jonah knew he can’t answer that. Nobody can, not even the Law of the Queen of Heart._ “To be honest,” he sighed as he kept brushing Rosehearts’ hair. “I don’t know.”

Rosehearts bit his lips, disappointed by the fact that he would not be able to enjoy all the things he had said. _Forever he would follow his mother’s rules and teaching without being able to take a break. He wouldn’t be able to have a moment like this again. Just to speak everything he wants, being comforted by someone who would listen. By the time they were able to leave the infirmary, both of them probably wouldn’t be able to see each other again. After all who would’ve wanted to befriend the Crimson Tyrant?_

“I would.”

Rosehearts looked up again, blinking in surprise. _Did... Did he say all of that out loud?_

Jonah smiled down at him. “You are not the Crimson Tyrant.” His hand stopped brushing Rosehearts’ hair, but slowly help him sit up again. They faced each other, with Jonah’s hand on his cheek. “You just need someone to guide you along the way. I know you’re a good kid, Senior Rosehearts.”

_“You’re a good guy, Senior Rosehearts. You just need the perfect guidance. Therefore, Riddle Rosehearts… You are free from any punishment.”_

_It is him._

Tears came out from Rosehearts’ eyes again, this time wasn’t because of sadness, but relief. _Maybe he could... Maybe he could find a way to make up the time he had lost... Maybe he could finally get rid of this aching feeling in his heart..._ Jonah pulled him into a hug, and he just let him. _He wanted to feel the warmth of someone’s hug. He wanted to have a shoulder he could lean on. He wanted to have a comforting hand, running down his hair, erasing all those anxiety away..._

_He wants to have a dear friend like him..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… Apparently I can’t write drama either.
> 
> I know some people are waiting for the gang reaction, but I think Riddle should at least vent all his feelings to Jonah first, before actually meeting with more people. At least, from my personal experience, it helps to calm me first.
> 
> If anyone curious of what Riddle was saying about the Rose Kingdom or his mom, I made some headcanons. All of them are canon-divergence: “Behind the Fic: Canon and Beyond - The Rosehearts Family" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/post/617432667564261376/behind-the-fic-canon-and-beyond-the-rosehearts]


	31. Take a Break and Get Away! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah decided it would be best if Riddle takes a break for a while.  
> Also “Baby seal~”

“So, you want some days off?”

Argentum nodded at the headmaster, taking a glance at the redhead who stood beside him. “It’s more for Senior Rosehearts actually. I think it’s better for him to be alone for a while. At least until he’s ready to go back to Heartslabyul,” he said. He glanced to the side where the other Heartslabyul students from the fight were standing. Grim was also there, hanging on Spade’s shoulder. “I… I hope you don’t mind.”

Crowley glanced at the other boys. The first-years were looking at each other, visibly confused but worried at the same time. Clover was frowning, looking down at his shoes and hands clenched into fists. Diamond glanced to the other, knowing their distress, then he stepped up to speak, “I think it will be fine.” The other students in the room turned toward him. “Give Riddle some space.”

Rosehearts blinked at him. When Diamond smiled at him, he immediately looked down again. Crowley looked between the two boys in front of his desk. It was very unusual to see Rosehearts so small like this. Crowley sighed and leaned back against his chair. “Alright,” he said. “I will inform the teachers about this.”

Argentum smiled with gratitude. “Thank you, Headmaster.”

Trappola pouted at him, folding his hands behind his head. “Hey. How come you’re the one gets a vacation, while we have to go back to school?”

When Trappola’s voice was heard, Rosehearts was seen turning his head to the side. Argentum gave him a small glance. He reached for the prefect’s sleeve and pulled a bit, just to reassure him. He then turned to Trappola again, this time with a childish smile. “I’m the captain, aren’t I?” he grinned at him. “Shipmates don’t get to rest.”

The ginger-head stuck out his tongue at him. “Oi, no fair!”

Spade covered his mouth, giggling behind his hand. Argentum then focused on Clover. He still looked worried. _How could he not? The one who he cares about was standing there and he couldn’t do anything yet._ “It won’t be long. Once Senior Rosehearts is back, we’ll go back to class again,” the younger boy said. “Aren’t you all worry about him?”

Clover’s sight was focused on Rosehearts, but the small child wouldn’t look up to him. Finally, he sighed. “Is there anything we can do?”

Rosehearts’ breath hitched and his eyes slightly widened, as if he wasn’t expecting Clover to say that. Argentum pulled his sleeve again to calm him down. “Maybe you can borrow some notes from his classmates?” he continued. “The Ramshackle Dorm is pretty boring, he’ll need something to take his mind off.” He then turned to the first years. “And I’ll be needing your notes too.” When Grim and Trappola looked at him confusedly, Argentum frowned. “Wait, do even have notes?”

Both Trappola and Grim avoided Argentum’s gaze. The one-eyed boy gave them a disappointed look. “Really?”

Spade raised his hand. “I have!”

“Thank you!” Argentum smiled at Spade, who was scratching his blushing cheek. Argentum then turned back to Trappola and Grim. “See? Why can’t you be like Deuce?”

“That’s just too much work!” Grim exclaimed.

Trappola nodded in agreement. “And not everyone is aiming to be a good boy!”

Spade turned to him. “Wh-What is that supposed to mean?!”

“Anything else?” asked Clover again.

“Maybe Senior Rosehearts’ clothes and books?” Argentum suggested. “Just necessary things for a sleepover.”

Clover pushed his glasses up his nose. “Alright. We’ll drop by after class along with the notes.”

Rosehearts clenched and unclenched his fist, to which Argentum tugged his sleeve again. The eye-patch boy smiled at Clover and the other. “Thank you so much.”

The corner of Crowley’s lips tugged up. _This boy… The surprises just wouldn’t stop…_

* * *

Jonah was walking through the aisle of books in the library, his fingers tracing the hard spine while his other hand held his other books close to his chest. _Who knew looking for a cookbook was harder than he thought?_ He didn’t ask anyone’s help, not because he was too prideful, but he just feels it would be easier to retrace his steps if he ever wants to come back again. “Where is it?” he muttered. “It has to be here somewhere…”

He stopped so he could grip his books tighter. But before he could continue, his vision turned black. “Ah!”

“Guess who~” A childish voice came out from behind him. “Ten seconds!”

“Eh?!” Jonah gripped the thing covering his eyes. It felt like hands, bigger than his. “Wha- Who is this?”

“Tick-tock, tick-tock~” the voice cheered again. “Beeeeppp! Time’s up!” Jonah felt his head being pulled back, neck craned backward as far until it hurts. The hands soon uncovered his eyes, now moved to hold the side of his face.

“Senior… Jade?”

“Wrong~” he grinned. “Think harder, Baby Seal!” The Jade-look-alike had the same bluish-green hair, but with a longer, darker strand on his right. His eyes had heterochromia iridium; his right eye is yellow, while his left eye is olive. He wore a blue, diamond-like earring on his right ear.

_Wait. Didn’t Senior Jade say that he had a twin…?_

“You’re his twin, aren’t you?” he asked, just to make sure.

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Ah! You do know! You’re smart, Baby Seal!”

Jonah frowned. “I’m not a seal…”

“But you’re so adorable and small~” The boy pinched his cheek. “Like a seal!”

“Don’t-”

“Ah!” The senior suddenly squished his cheeks with his palms. “We should talk some more interesting stuff!” Suddenly, Jonah was being turned around so both of them could stand face-to-face, the boy’s hand gripping his upper arms. “It’s boring around here…”

Jonah pulled back when the boy’s face was slowly getting too close to his. “I’m just here to find some book recipe book, really,” he mumbled.

The boy tilted his head to the side. “Eh~ You can cook?”

Jonah turned his head to the side. “Sort of.”

“Ah~ You should cook for me one day!”

“Y-Yeah… I guess.”

The boy grinned once again before letting go of his arm. He was still leaning down so their face just a few inches apart, it also didn’t help that Jonah’s back was pressing against the shelf. “The cookbooks are just on the upper row.” The boy pointed upward.

Jonah turned around to look above. He tried to reach for the book there. “Ugh…” He tried to stand on his tippy-toes but still could reach it. “I can’t…”

“Hehe. You’re stretching and trembling all over.” The boy laughed. “Can’t do it? Do you want me to get it for you? Do you? Do you?”

Jonah tried to jump. “I can just find a stepladder-”

All of a sudden, the boy came closer and reached up, pulling a book from there. “Here ya go~”

Jonah pouted when the boy stepped back, holding the exact cookbook Jonah was looking for. “Thanks, I guess.” When he tried to take it, the boy avoided it. “Umm…” He tried again, but the boy just pulled it away again. “Senior Leech?”

“Ah-ah-ah~” The boy grinned and he raised the book above his head, away from Jonah’s reach. “Try guessing my name first then I’ll give this back!”

“I don’t-” Jonah jumped but couldn’t reach it. “Argh, come on!” He tried again, but the taller boy stepped back. “Senior Jade never mentioned your name!”

“Then guess, Baby Seal~”

The game kept continuing and Jonah could feel himself getting even more frustrated. “Is it Jaden?”

“Nope.”

“Jerome.”

“Nu-uh!”

“Lil’ Ol’ Joe!”

The boy pouted as he stopped. “What’s with all the ‘J’?”

“Aren’t you twins? Isn’t it a thing for twins to share the first letter name?” Jonah jumped one last time but still couldn’t reach for it. _Damn, his short body._

“Boo~ You’re no fun~” The boy finally lowered the book and placed it on Jonah’s head. “Here.”

“Eh?” Jonah quickly grabbed the book before it fell from his head.

“When we meet again, make sure to get my name right, Baby Seal~”

“I’m not-”

The boy was already walking away, waving his hand toward him before disappearing to the next aisle. Jonah looked at the cookbook in his hand and to the direction, the boy just walked out.

 _What a weirdo…_

* * *

“Thank you so much, you guys.”

Riddle looked down from the second floor, hands holding the railing. He could see Jonah was talking to someone behind the door. On his shoulder, he had a small backpack and some books in the hands. He knew that backpack. It was his. _That meant…_

“Not a problem, we’re all happy to help.”

_That was Cater’s voice._

“Is Riddle here?”

_That one was Trey’s._

“He’s resting in his room right now,” Jonah answered. “He hadn’t come out yet.”

“Should we see him?” He heard Trey asked again.

“Give him more times,” Jonah said again, softer this time “Again. Thanks for all of this.”

“Right. We're heading back now,” Cater said before the sound of footsteps walked away. Jonah pulled the door with his foot before pushing it close with his hip. He walked inside and he looked up. His eyes widened a bit, surprise that Riddle finally came out.

“Were those Trey and the others?” Riddle finally asked, snapping Jonah from his confusion.

“Yeah,” Jonah said as he walked up the stairs toward Riddle. “They brought you some clothes and books.”

“Why would they…”

Riddle clenched his fist on his railing. He still could get a grasp on this. _Why would they still want to help him after everything he had done?_

“They wouldn’t have helped you if they care don’t care about you, Senior Rosehearts. They’re willing to give you another chance.” Riddle looked up again when Jonah stood in front of him. The boy was smiling at him as he gave the book and the backpack. “I’ll be finishing up dinner, you can take a shower first.”

As Jonah walked down, Riddle kept staring at the books. He could felt his eyes started to tear up again. _Damn it. Even though he said to himself that he wouldn’t cry again. Does Trey really still care about him? Are the others really giving him another chance? Or maybe they just want to help because Argentum asked them?_

_He… He doesn’t understand this…_

* * *

“Smells so good.” Jonah looked up from putting some sour cream and olives on top of the soup he just made. He smiled when Rosehearts walked into the kitchen. They don’t have exactly a dining room in here, so Jonah figured they could eat at the counter.

“Yeah.” Jonah smiled as he put the bowl in front of Rosehearts when he sat down. “Here.”

Rosehearts looked down the bowl before looking up to Jonah again confusedly. Jonah just shrugged. Rosehearts stirred the soup before scooping a spoonful into his mouth. His eyebrow raised. Rosehearts suck his spoon before pulling it out and smacking his lips.

“Delightfully tangy, yet robust,” Rosehearts commented and Jonah just smiled so widely. Perfect.

“The recipe works then!” he said sitting down on his chair. “Oyster sauce does help.”

“Oyster sauce?” Rosehearts looked at him weirdly.

Jonah scooped out some shrimp and potatoes from the bottom of his bowl and ate them. “Oh, I added a few drops of oyster sauce in there,” he said with a mouthful. “I guess Senior Clover was right in one point.”

“Trey?”

Jonah gulped before putting his spoon down. “It was when we were cooking the mont blanc…”

It was a calm dinner. Jonah did the most of the talking while Rosehearts just listen, smiling and laughing here and there. It was a simple night. _It was nice._ After all those chaos, they welcomed moments like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter that the previous one, but so much happened in this chapter.  
> Why did I make Floyd so touchie? Look at those sexual tensions...  
> Also, we're in Hogwarts, why am I writing this like a domestic household?  
> \---  
> Alright, guys. One last this for the day!
> 
> We have finally reached chapter 31, so we only have four more chapters before we officially close _The Crimson Tyrant_ arc. _Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide_ will start at May 25th, while _The Rebel of the Wilderness_ aka Leona's Arc will start at 1st June.
> 
> Now, this is the fun part...
> 
> Just like every great anime, we will have a small recap on my Tumblr!  
> So, if you want to ask about behind the scene of me writing _The Crimson Tyrant_ or just to share your favorite or even suggest some great idea for future filler arc, you submit them to my 'Good Question' box. On Sunday 24th I will be answering/reacting to them!
> 
> My Tumblr is "TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]. I will be also posting this announcement there.  
> So, I'll be waiting!


	32. Reigning Beast! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure continues with Jonah cooking for Riddle.  
> Also he may or may not accidentally awaken a grouchy lion.

“Strawberries?”

“Yeah.” Jonah nodded at him. “I was thinking about making some snacks for tea time. Something with strawberry since Senior Rosehearts like it so much.”

That afternoon after class, Trey was about to go to the Ramshackle Dorm to drop some notes ( _and hoping to meet Riddle_ ), when he was Jonah exited Mr. S’s Mystery Shop, carrying a plastic bag filled with chocolate chips, whipping cream, and crackers. He looked a bit disappointed, so Trey decided to talk to him.

“Then you’re in luck.” Trey smiled at him. “I’ve been cultivating strawberries as my science club project since last year. I can give you some.”

Jonah perked up at this, eye twinkling. “Really?”

“Yes. My strawberries right now are very sour, perfect for strawberry tarts and sweet chocolate.”

“Those are for Senior Rosehearts, aren’t they?” Jonah chuckled. “You’re very loyal to him, huh, Senior Clover?”

Trey’s lips pulled up a bit. “Riddle is my childhood friend, it’s only understandable.”

“He’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

…

_Is he lucky though?_

“He’s luckier to have a friend like you.”

“Eh?”

Trey stopped and Jonah stopped just a few feet behind him. He let out a sigh as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “I have to say thank you for comforting him after him overblotting.”

“You knew?”

None of them left when Crowley suggested for them to leave the two injured boys in the infirmary. The headmaster left the door open just a bit, gave them a ‘shh~’ with an index finger pressed on his lips before leaving them alone. Ace was the first one to take a peek inside, followed by Grim and Deuce. Cater pulled Trey along.

To be honest, Trey was a bit hurt that Jonah was the one who woke up Riddle rather than him. He was supposed to be the one who takes care of Riddle, not this boy who in their first meeting only caused trouble. But the worst part was watching Riddle actually confessing to Jonah, not him. None of them expect Riddle to cry or to just let out everything he wanted but never get it. Watching Riddle just wailing in Jonah’s arms stirred something inside him… _Something protective…_

“Senior Rosehearts is going to need all the help and friends he can get.” Jonah suddenly said, making Trey turn around. Jonah stared at him with a warm smile. “You know him more than I do, so I’m going to need your hand on deck.”

_An invitation…_

“I’ll do anything.”

_Without hesitation._

“Thank you.” Jonah thrust out his hand. “Welcome aboard, Mister Clover.”

Trey stepped forward and reached for the hand. He would definitely help Riddle. He wasn’t the little boy who couldn’t do anything when Riddle was taken away by his mother that day at the bakery. He wasn’t the little boy who didn’t dare to speak up when he found Riddle’s mother opening the door instead of Riddle himself. He wasn’t the little boy who would just walk away when he was called a bad influence.

 _He’s now Riddle’s right-hand man and he will do better this time._

* * *

Jonah walked happily down the path of the botanical greenhouse. Trey’s strawberries looked so good. It was juicy, a bit sour, but would be a good compliment for the chocolate fondue he was planning to make He hoped Senior Rosehearts like it though. He never complained during his stay there, so Jonah sometimes had a hard time guessing. _They’re gonna need to work on that communications…_

_*squish*_

“Oof–!”

“Eh?”

_Wait, who said that-_

Before he could figure it out, he found himself being pulled down. He let out a startled gasp when his back hit the ground. His wrists were being pinned down beside his head by a pair of gloved hands. Slowly opening his eye because _who dare-_

“Hey. You’ve got some nerve stepping on someone’s tail without apologizing.”

_Wait a minute._

_He had heard that voice before._

The one above him was a muscular young-man with brown skin. He had thick, messy brown hair with two braids on either side. He also has green eyes, with a thin scar going from his left eyebrow to his cheek. He also has light-brown lion ears. _A hybrid?_

“E-Excuse me?!” Jonah managed to speak again.

“I went here thinking I can have a peaceful nap, but you go and walk all over my tail,” the boy said with a hint of growls at the end. “Do you really think that I’m, Leona, just gonna let you off scot-free like that?”

“Look, I didn’t mean to-!”

“Wait a minute…” The boy, Leona, leaned toward his face, and Jonah tilted his head to the side to avoid his nose. “Ah, you’re the little herbivore that the Mirror said can’t use magic.”

Leona leaned closer and Jonah felt his cheek heat up when he felt the tip of the older boy’s nose touched his neck, sniffing his scent. “Wh-What the heck are you thinking?!”

“Strange…” Leona muttered. “I smell a speck of magic on you.” He released one of the smaller boy’s hand, quickly pinned it, along with the other hand above his head. He brushed some of the bangs from his eye, finding his right eye covered by a medical eye-patch. “Heh. Now, what do we have here?”

“Wait-” Ignoring the boy, Leona snapped the eye-patch off, finding the strange yellow-and-red eye.

It was as if the world came to a halt. The eye-patch slipped off from Leona’s hand. His face went slack, jaw slightly drop and eyes widened. It was no different for Jonah. It kind of reminded him of Senior Rosehearts after his Dwarfs’ Mine adventure. There was a strange green tint in the young man’s pupils. The green reminded him of that green light from the orb…

“Leona!”

The trance was broken. Both boys blinked back to reality. The young man, Leona, turned his head while Jonah tried to lift his head. A boy was walking toward him, wearing the NRC uniform but with a yellow vest like Leona. He had messy dirty-blond hair, a pair of hyena’s ears on top of his head. His eyes are light blue and his hyena tail lazily wagging behind him.

“I knew you’d be here. It’s time for your remedi- Ah?”

He went silent, clearly surprised at the position of the two. Jonah blushed again. Realizing that this was probably his only chance, he lifted his leg, kneeing Leona in the groin. Earning a “Tch!” from Leona, the older boy accidentally released Jonah’s hand. The smaller boy quickly slipped away from him, grabbing his grocery plastic bags (hoping that nothing inside of them were ruined) and eye-patch, and ran as fast and as far as he could.

The hyena boy didn’t make a move to stop him. He only watched them in amusement. “Heh~ Leona, did you find a new prey?” he asked turning back to Leona who sat on the ground.

Leona groaned. “Shut it, Ruggie.”

The hyena-boy, Ruggie, snickered. “Come on, Leona. You’ve got remedial lessons today. You don’t want to repeat another year, right? We’ll end up being classmates next year if this keeps up, y’know?”

“Just stop nagging already,” Leona muttered, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t wanna nag you either!” Ruggie put his hands on his hips, looking like a mom scolding her son. “Geez, you can do anything you put your mind to, but you don’t put effort at all. Come on, let’s go!”

Leona sighed. “Tch.” He glanced toward the way that strange-eyed boy ran off to. “Watch out next time you come onto my turf, Herbivore.”

* * *

Riddle looked up when the Ramshackle Dorm was opened and quickly closed. Jonah was leaning against the door, breathing heavily and cheeks red. He looked like he just ran a marathon. Riddle quickly stood up, putting his crossword book on the table and he walked toward him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Jonah wiped his brow, still breathing heavily. “I ran into some problem.”

Riddle looked up and down at the boy, noticing the plastic bag he was holding, some red color could be seen in there. “Are those… strawberries?”

“Yeah.” Jonah nodded. “You like them, don’t you?”

Riddle opened his mouth before closing it. Jonah looked at him with that look that said ‘it’s okay, you can tell me’, a look that Riddle always saw when he talks at him. In the end, Riddle nodded. “Yeah. Strawberry tart is my favorite.”

Jonah smiled at him. “I’m going to make a snack for us. Be right back in a bit.”

Jonah walked to the kitchen and Riddle followed him from behind, only stopping at the entrance, leaning against the frame. He watched Jonah turned on the stove and poured out some heavy cream, chocolate chip, and a bit dash of cinnamon before whisking them up. He actually enjoyed watching him cook for two days. There was always that smile on his face as if he was born to do this. When it was done, Jonah poured it into a bowl and prepared the strawberry and graham crackers.

Riddle found himself in the Ramshackle Dorm’s lounge, eating the strawberry covered chocolate fondue. It was sour and sweet at the same time, which he liked. He glanced at Jonah. He was nibbling at his crackers, frowning at the paper in front of him.

“Any trouble?” Riddle asked.

Jonah looked up, a bit surprised, but soon he smiled. “Just some alchemy,” he said, scratching his head with his pencil. “I forgot the ingredient of the cure for boils potion.”

“Six crushed snake fangs, four horned-slugs, and two porcupine quills,” Riddle quickly answered. “Put it in the cauldron in that order. Brew the crushed snake fangs first, before putting in the others.”

“Oh, right.” Jonah quickly wrote that down. “And to brew the snake fangs we need… A minute, right?”

Riddle nodded. “If you using a copper cauldron, yes, but if you’re using a pewter cauldron, you’ll need a minute and thirty seconds, while for brass is a minute and twenty seconds.”

Jonah wrote that down too. “Geez, all of those just for one potion.”

“Alchemy is tricky,” Riddle said, biting to his strawberry. “One failed step and you’ll fail.”

Jonah chuckled. “I see.” He looked up at Riddle again and gave him a wide smile. “Thanks, Senior Rosehearts.”

Riddle blinked. _There was it again: thanking him so sincerely. Just like back then after they had caught that demon-cat._

“Jonah.” When Jonah, who went back to his homework, answered him with a “Hmm?” Riddle continued, “Why are you doing this?”

Jonah stopped writing. He turned his head toward him. “What do you mean?”

Riddle gripped his fork tighter. Head down, not daring to see him straight in the eye. “Helping me… Taking care of me… After all this time I’ve been rude to you…”

He heard Jonah sighed and scooted closer, their knee practically touching each other. “I’ve told you before. We’re willing to give you a second chance.”

Riddle shook his head. “I don’t deserve it.”

He felt Jonah pulled him into a one-sided hug, Riddle resting his head on his shoulder. It was funny how he just spent two nights together and Riddle already loving these physical affections. Maybe that was what he had been missing in his whole life. His mother never did this, and Trey probably wouldn’t dare.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Jonah answered, running his finger through his red hair.

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“How…”

He felt Jonah shrugged. “Just a feeling in my guts.”

Riddle sighed. “You think the other will give me a second chance?”

“I know they will.”

That was the reassuring he had been waiting for. “Then… I want to go back tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

Riddle lifted his head and stare at Jonah straight into the eye. He knew he couldn’t run away from his dorm forever, and he couldn’t be a burden for Jonah. He had to return. He had to clean up his mess. “Yes. I need… I need to do this.”

Jonah smiled softly at him. A smile that for some reason made Riddle’s heart leap. “And I’ll be right behind you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trey, my dear. You’re going off the script.  
> Leona- Finally, come on, it’s time for your debut! But why did I write you like this?!  
> Riddle, my boy, you’re doing amazing sweetie.
> 
> Remember guys, if you have any questions or a couple of suggestions, just sent you message to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]). I will be answering/reacting to it next Sunday!


	33. So Let the Paint be Spread! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Riddle says sorry and I failed at writing paint war (and now I’m worried for my Happy Bean Day Arc)

He was standing on top of a rock. He could hear animals chattering bellow him. All of them gathered bellow the part of this huge rock pointy end as if they were waiting for something. He noticed a blue-colored bird with an orange beak flew toward the rock. He just noticed by now that he wasn’t alone on the rock.

The bird landed on the rock, bowing to a lion with golden fur and red mane. The lion looked majestic, a king Jonah dare to say. The lion gave the bird a warm smile before nodding. He looked behind him, and for a moment Jonah thought he was looking at him. But then he heard footsteps coming from the cave. He saw a lioness with light brown fur, along with a baboon who was carrying a baby cub with golden fur, walked out from the cave. The lion and the lioness watched with pride as the monkey raised the cub to the air. The cloud parted and the light shone above the cub. Jonah watched as the animal of various kinds bowed their head. Jonah could help but to also knelt and bowed his head. He knew this was just a vision from the orb he was holding, but he couldn’t help it.

_It was such a majestic sight…_

When he opened his eyes, he found himself kneeling on top of his bed. _Well, that was embarrassing._ He was lucky that Rosehearts didn’t come in there to wake him up.

* * *

“Okay, we’re here.”

Riddle sucked in a deep breath. _This is it._

When he and Jonah entered the Heartslabyul dorm, they noticed that it was empty even though it was not school hour anymore. So, they guessed that the students were in the garden. And they were right. Riddle could hear some chattering from behind the door. It felt like a long time ago he walked past the door, only to have the worst experience named overblot.

_He… He can do this… Right…?_

“Senior Rosehearts?”

Riddle turned toward Jonah. He was frowning worriedly. _Damn it. He just ruined this again._ He took a deep breath again. “Y-Your tie is a little off,” he mumbled as he reached to fix the other boy’s bowtie. _He was making excuses. He needed a distraction. He just needed to make these trembling hands stop._

“Ah, thank you.” Jonah grabbed his hands when he finished. He was smiling at him, which gave Riddle the reassurance he needed. “Ready?”

Glancing at the closed door then back at Jonah, he nodded. “Yes.”

_Here we go._

Jonah opened the double door and immediately the chattering stopped. Jonah turned to him, slightly bowing as if he was a butler welcoming him home. Unclenching his fists, Riddle stepped into the garden. Riddle looked around, examining the damage. Rose bushes were pulled out from their roots, leaves scattered at the grass, bush fences ruined, and overall it was a mess.

“Cap-” Riddle looked forward where Ace was standing. Jonah pressed his index finger on his lips, silencing him. _Right. It was Riddle’s time to talk._

“Everyone,” he started. “I just want to say… I’m sorry.”

There were muttering in the crowds and Riddle instantly forgot what he was supposed to be saying. _Come on, Riddle. You can do speeches. This is supposed to be easy._ He was stumbling through his words, “I know that I’ve been… to put it simply, a tyrant, but… I…” Riddle bit his lip as he looked down. _Dammit. Why is this so hard?_

“Oi, Prefect.” Riddle looked up to Ace again. “Don’t think that only because you say sorry I will forgive you.”

Cater, who stood beside Trey, gasped. “Ace, what the heck?!”

“We’ve been put through the wringer!” Ace shouted. “And that mont blanc we’ve worked so hard to make was thrown like garbage!”

Grim, who was sitting on Deuce’s shoulder, groaned. “Geez, this guy holds a grudge worse than I do,” he mumbled. Deuce himself face-palmed at his friend’s attitude.

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Riddle said, forcing himself to look forward. “I’m not really expecting you to forgive me that fast.” He clenched his fist. “But… Is there anything I can to make it up for all of you?”

Ace watched him with his judging look. Riddle won’t complain. _He deserved it._ Ace then sighed. “My birthday isn’t for a while.”

Deuce blinked in confusion. “Huh? What are you getting at?”

“So, I demand we have a ‘revenge’ unbirthday party.” Ace crossed his arm in front of his chest. “We didn’t even get to stay until the end of the party last time. Also, you have to make the tart. No getting help from Senior Trey either! Make it yourself from scratch!” He glanced away, speaking in a softer voice and pink tint on his cheeks. “If you do that, then there’s nothing I won’t forgive…”

He heard Jonah giggled behind him. “Mister Trappola, can you be more honest, please?”

Ace glared at him. “Shut up, Captain!” He then turned back to Riddle. “So, you got all that?”

 _That was it? He was expecting Ace to take his position right here right now, but… Does he just want a party?_ Riddle glanced behind him. Jonah was smiling, nodding at him. Riddle turned back to Ace. _Can this be the second chance Jonah was talking about?_

_If yes, then he can’t mess this up._

Riddle nodded. “Yeah, I got it…”

Immediately, the tension in the garden disappeared. He could hear a collective sigh of relief. The chattering was back, but this time it was a happy chatter. Ace himself was smiling a little at him. He thrust out his hand and Riddle immediately took it, giving it a firm shake, sealing his deal. He could hear some students clapped at them. Riddle himself couldn’t help but smile. He turned back to Jonah again. He was grinning at him, obviously happy with the result.

“Alright! That settles it!” Cater cheered, walking toward them. He clapped his hands. “Everyone, let get back to cleaning up the garden! The garden I worked so hard in is in shambles…”

“I can help,” Riddle said, which made Cater turned around in disbelieve.

“You sure, Riddle?” He asked.

Riddle nodded. “Yes. I… I can help with painting the rose.”

Cater was smiling widely. “Of course!” He waved his pen and two pairs of red paint bucket and paintbrush appeared in front of him.

“Just go with Ace and Deuce there,” Cater said. Riddle nodded and took one pair. Cater glanced at Jonah. “Jonah, we still have one paintbrush left.”

“Of course.” Jonah smiled and took the other pair. He turned to Riddle. “Shall we?”

Riddle couldn’t help but smile back. “Yes.” 

* * *

“It has been a long time since I painted the roses, actually,” Rosehearts said in the middle of painting the rose.

Jonah looked down, being the one on the ladder to paint the higher rose. “Really? When was the last time?”

Rosehearts shrugged. “I don’t remember. Ever since I became prefect, I always left it to the other students.”

Jonah chuckled. “I think it can be a fun activity. Though with those three over there…” He glanced at the bush next to them where Ace, Deuce, and Grim was working at.

Ace looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Captain… Are you mocking us?” he pouted, to which Jonah just shrugged. “We can definitely do better than you handmade ones.”

Meanwhile, Deuce was pointing his magical pen at a rose. “Red, red… There!” A magic circle appeared on top of the rose, changing its color, but not the color that he wanted. “AH! It turned blue!”

Grim was glaring at one of the rose. “You will change colors~! Go!” A magic circle appeared and fire lit from it. “AHHHH! I set them on fire!”

“Dammit, you guys! Stop embarrassing me in front of them!” Ace screamed at his teammates, earning a pair of chuckles from Jonah and Rosehearts.

Jonah climbed from the ladder and whispered to Rosehearts, “You know, if you need help with the tart, I can do it.”

Rosehearts glanced at him confusedly. “Eh? But Ace said-”

“You can’t get help from Senior Clover, right?” He pressed his index finger to his lips. “He didn’t say you can get help from me~”

Rosehearts glanced at Ace, who was still screaming at Grim and Deuce, then back to Jonah. “Y-Yeah…?”

“We’ll keep this between us two, okay?” Jonah whispered again, giving Rosehearts a smirk, which made him blush.

“O-Okay…” he whispered back.

And then all of the sudden-

_*splat*_

“Eh?”

Rosehearts reached behind his head, feeling something wet from it. When he looked at his hand, it was covered with… _red paint?_

“Crud… I hit Riddle…” Jonah heard Ace whispered. The ginger-head was holding his magical pen closed to his chest and he slowly stepped back, at the same time Rosehearts turned his head with a cold stare on his face.

“Now, you’ve done it, you chicken-butt!” Grim hissed at Ace.

Deuce stepped forward, though his face was as pale as Ace and Grim. “Please, Prefect! Overlook it!”

“Overlook…?” Rosehearts said in a low tone. Slowly, he reached to his pocket and took out his magical pen. A magic circle instantly appeared beneath his feet. He brought his pen up, pointing it toward Ace.

“He’ll cut my head off!” Ace screamed. He pulled Deuce in front of him, hiding behind the blunette’s back. “Cover me!”

Deuce was panicking, looking back and forth from Rosehearts and Ace. “Wha- Wait!”

Too late. Magic unleashed from Rosehearts’ pen-

_*splat*_

Everything went silent. Deuce reached up to wiped something from his eyes. Slowly he opened his eyes, looking at the red liquid on his hand. “P… Paint…?

Ace gasped. “Oh, sweet Queen of Heart!” He started to laugh out loud. Jonah and Grim soon followed the laugh, while Rosehearts looked proud of this.

Deuce clenched his fist. He turned toward Ace. “You…” Quickly, he aimed his magical pen at Ace, splatting blue paint at his face.

Ace immediately stopped laughing. In turn, Rosehearts was giggling, along with louder laughers from Jonah and Grim. Ace didn’t look angry at all. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Oh… We’re doing this, eh?” He pointed his magical pen at Rosehearts, shooting pink paint from it.

However, the prefect was quick in reflex. “Whoa-” He immediately ducked. In turn, Jonah got pink paint all over his face.

“Ah!” Jonah turned to Ace. “How dare you attack your captain!” He grabbed his paintbrush and bucket. “Come here!”

Ace blew a raspberry at him and started running. “Catch me if you can!”

Jonah was laughing as he chased Ace. “Mister Trappola, get back here!”

That was how Trey and Cater found them. Covered in paint, ruining the white roses even more. But all of them were smiling. Riddle was laughing, with no trace of mockery or anger. And that was all that matters to them.

Nobody realized that Cater took a picture of them and uploaded it to his magicam. It quickly became one of Cater’s most liked pictures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Jonah is flirting with Riddle without even noticing it XD
> 
> We're only two chapters left guys!  
> Remember guys, if you have any questions or a couple of suggestions, just sent you messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]). I will be answering/reacting to it next Sunday!


	34. Stirring Secrets! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah and Riddle joined Cooking Mama!

“So, what are you planning to make?” Jonah asked as he turned off the tap and dried his hands. Currently, he and Senior Rosehearts were at the Heartslabyul Dorm’s kitchen. Rosehearts was wearing a pink frilly apron, which he said he was borrowed from Senior Clover. And honestly, Jonah didn’t know which one was funnier: the fact that Senior Clover had a frilly pink apron, or the fact Senior Rosehearts, the former Crimson Tyrant, was wearing that said apron and still had that poker face.

Rosehearts looked up. “Um...” He looked down at the cookbook he was holding, flipping the pages before stopping. “Strawberry tart? There’s a recipe here.” He walked up to Jonah and showed the recipe to Jonah.

Jonah skimmed through the recipe before nodded. “Yeah. We can make those,” he said as he tied his white apron behind his back (because Senior Rosehearts said so). “Alright, let’s look for the ingredients.”

It turned into a fetch quest, looking for the ingredients around the kitchen: flour, butter, lemon, strawberries, and various other stuff. Jonah finally found the granulated sugar on the cupboard, but when he turned around he saw that Rosehearts was holding a small glass bottle in his hand. When he walked up to him, he saw that it was a bottle of _Walrus-Brand Young Oyster Sauce_. “Senior Rosehearts,” Jonah said, raising an eyebrow. “We don’t need oyster sauce.”

“We don’t?” Rosehearts turned his head toward him with a confused look. “But Trey said that a delicious tart always has oyster sauce as a secret ingredient…”

_…_

_Oh._

_OH…_

Jonah quickly covered his mouth to cover his giggle. “Sweet Nebula, you nearly fell for that.”

Rosehearts blinked nervously. “Eh? But it helped with you soup …?”

“It does, but it won’t work with dessert as well,” Jonah said between his laugh. “Sure, we use salt to bring out the flavor, but the oyster sauce will be too strong for it.”

“Oh.” Rosehearts looked down to the oyster sauce. “Yeah…” He was smiling, followed by a laugh. “I’m so stupid.”

Jonah stopped laughing, but his smile never left his face. “Okay, let’s start.” Rosehearts nodded and Jonah took the oyster sauce from his hand as he continued, “You can make the crust while I make the cream.”

“Alright.”

The two boys went to their stations. Jonah prepared a bowl to mix the custard. “How many tarts do you want to make?”

“Maybe, three,” Rosehearts answered as he poured flour into the food processor. “It’s only fair since we also have three tarts at the last party.”

Jonah nodded. “That’s understandable.”

They did their job. Senior Rosehearts finished earlier and put the dough into the fridge. Jonah was whisking the cream as he poured the milk, while Riddle was cutting the strawberries.

“Here.” Jonah walked up to Rosehearts with a spoon of the cream mixture. “Taste it.”

Rosehearts took the spoon and put the tip into his mouth. The cream was sweet, a bit lemony, but it had a perfect consistency. “Hmm...” He licked his lips. “Taste great.”

“Is it?” There was still a bit of cream on the spoon. Jonah then just put the whole spoon into his mouth.

Rosehearts’ face immediately went red. “Wh-What are you doing?”

Jonah pulled the spoon out from his mouth. He started his senior confusedly. “Huh?”

“I just licked that!” he yelled, gesturing to the boy and spoon. “You can’t just put that in your mouth! That’s unsanitary!”

“It’s just a spoon...” Jonah said as he tossed the spoon to the sink. “It’s fine.”

 _It’s not fine!_ Rosehearts wanted to scream, but Jonah already went back to his job, putting the cream into a plastic bag. Rosehearts just ran his hand down his face. Trying to stop blushing, he took out the dough from the fridge after thirty minutes. Jonah, in turn, put his creams into the fridge for quick chilling. Rosehearts floured his workspace and started to roll. It was quite heavy actually.

“Need any help?” Rosehearts heard Jonah said from behind. “Here.”

“Eh-” All of a sudden, he felt Jonah was pressing his body against his back, his hand reached out to hold on the rolling pin and Rosehearts’ hand.

“You need to press and roll.” Jonah helped him pressed the dough and rolled it until Rosehearts, whose face was as red as the strawberries, could get the hang of it. “See? Don’t make it too thin.”

Rosehearts gulped. “R-Right.”

Jonah smiled and let go of his hand. Rosehearts let out a quiet sigh, unheard by the other boy. After preheating the oven, Jonah walked back to Rosehearts’ counter to prepare the pan, letting the prefect form the crusts by himself.

“Hmm…” Jonah hummed as he stared at the strawberries that Rosehearts had cut.

The prefect looked up from the oven after finished putting the dough in. “What’s wrong?”

“I think we don’t have enough strawberries,” Jonah said.

Rosehearts frowned. “What should we do?”

“No need to worry.”

Both boys turned to the kitchen door. The green-haired vice prefect was standing there with a basket filled with ripened strawberries. Rosehearts blinked. “Trey?”

Jonah waved at his senior. “Hello, Senior Clover.”

Senior Clover smiled at him as he walked in, putting the basket on Rosehearts’ counter. “I just picked some fresh strawberry from the botanical garden.”

Rosehearts stared at the strawberries. This was more than enough, maybe even spare some. Rosehearts smiled at Clover. “Thank you.” He then picked up the basket and walked to the sink, about to wash the fruit.

Jonah looked at Clover who was in distress, hands clenching-and-unclenching into fists. Jonah sighed. He turned his head to the prefect. “Senior Rosehearts? Where’s the bathroom?”

“It’s just around the corner,” Rosehearts said without looking up.

“‘Kay~” Jonah glanced at Clover. He gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “Just talk to him.”

Clover looked at him gratefully. “Thanks.”

Jonah nodded as he walked out of the kitchen. He didn’t leave immediately after he closed the door, instead, he pressed his back to the door, listening to the conversation between the two childhood friends.

* * *

Riddle looked so serious while he was washing the strawberries. There was silence between them. He didn’t know how Riddle felt about this, but Trey just couldn’t stand it. Not when he needed to get something off his chest.

He cleared his throat, more likely to calm himself down. “So, how are the tarts?” he asked, walking toward the oven and looked in it.

“We’re doing pretty great actually,” Riddle answered, as he turned off the tap.

“You made the crust?” Trey asked again.

Riddle brought the bowl of strawberries to the counter again. “How do you know?”

“I’ve seen Jonah’s handiworks. These shapes look a little bit out of sorts.” Trey smiled, and quickly added, “It looks pretty good considering it’s your first time.”

Riddle chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “I guess so.”

There was another silence between them. Trey watched Riddle cuts the strawberries, keeping his hand in his pocket to stop himself from helping him. It was some sloppy cuts, but again, it was the prefect’s first time. He didn’t look stressed at all. He looked so relaxed, enjoying himself.

Trey took a deep breath and let it out from his mouth. “Riddle?”

“Yes?”

“I want to say... I’m sorry.”

Riddle stopped. Slowly he looked up at Trey. “What for?”

Trey sighed and walked closer to him, with only the counter being the one thing that separated them. “For everything. I always knew you were suffering but I kept quiet...”

Riddle shook his head. “No. I’m the one at fault here. What I’ve done was wrong.”

“But I knew you were wrong, and I didn’t do anything to stop you or to correct you.”

Riddle paused for a moment before sighing. “To be honest, I don’t know if I would listen to you or not back then.” He walked around the counter so he could stand face-to-face with Trey. “Again, it wasn’t your fault.” He sighed again. “I guess... I should say thank you.”

This time, it was Trey’s turn to blinks in confusion. “For what?”

There was a small smile on Riddle’s face. “For staying with me. For not turning you back on me.” He stretched out his hand. “Can we still be friends after this? Just like old times?”

Trey stared at Riddle. Slowly, his lips pulled out a soft, gratitude-filled, smile. And, without wasting any second on this wonderful opportunity, he took it. “Of course. And you’re welcome.”

None of them realized that Jonah was still behind the door, sighing in relief and smiling with joy, happy for the two of them. _It looks like things are going to be better from now on._

* * *

“And... There!” Jonah clapped his hand as he put the final strawberry on top of the last tart. “We did it!”

On the counter, there were three whole tarts with golden crust and strawberries on top of them. They looked so delicious. Rosehearts sighed in relief. “Thank you so much for helping.”

“No problem, Senior Rosehearts.” Jonah smiled at him. “That’s what friends for, right?”

 _Friends…_ That word still brought warmth to Rosehearts’ heart. “You...” he cleared his throat. “You don’t have to call me ‘Senior Rosehearts’ all the time.”

“Then what should I call you then?” Jonah asked. He then snapped his fingers. “How about ‘Riro’?”

Rosehearts stared at him with confusion. “Riro?”

Jonah held up his right index finger. “Take the ‘Ri’ from ‘Riddle’…” He also held up his left index finger. “And ‘Ro’ from ‘Rosehearts’…” He then brought the two together with a giant grin on his face. “Riro!”

“That sounds weird!” Rosehearts screamed, cheeks blushing. “Just ‘Riddle’ is fine.”

Jonah laughed. “Okay then, Senior Riddle.” Jonah nodded back, holding out his hand. “Glad we have an agreement, Mister Riddle.”

Senior Rosehearts – Senior Riddle took the hand, giving it a firm shake. “The pleasure is mine, Mister Jonah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh…  
> Is this relationship moving too fast? I kept reminding myself that Jonah is actually shorter than Riddle. It’s just funny imagining these scenes! Apparently he’s very touchy too! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make Riddle like this! My hands just kept on writing!
> 
> Anyway, tomorrow is this arc finale!  
> Remember guys, if you have any questions or a couple of suggestions, just sent you messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]). I will be answering/reacting to it next Sunday!


	35. Reconciliation Desserts! (The Crimson Tyrant Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'The Crimson Tyrant' Finale!

Jonah stared at himself in front of the mirror as he tied his hair into his usual low-ponytail. Sitting on his bed was Senior Diamond who decided to pick him up. Last night, Riddle didn’t sleep in the Ramshackle Dorm, instead, he went back to Heartslabyul so he could prepare for the unbirthday party, which was understandable.

“I’m surprised these clothes haven’t turned back yet,” Jonah said as he buttoned up his light blue vest.

“Keep it!” Diamond cheered. ”You’re an honorary member of Heartslabyul!”

Jonah turned his head toward him. “Wait. Really?”

“Anyone who can make Riddle smile gains our instant respect~,” Diamond said again. “I’m sure he’ll invite you to more parties.”

Jonah chuckled. “It sounds like you’re only making that up, Senior Diamond.”

“Aw, Jonah you don’t trust me? And call me Cater!” The orange-haired stood up from his bed and walked toward him, giving Jonah a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Honorary member has the privilege to call everyone with their first name!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say… Senior Cater.”

Cater laughed. He steered Jonah around and pushed him toward the door. “Now let’s get Grim and have this party started!”

* * *

“About time you came, Captain!” Ace waved from their table. Grim immediately jumped off his shoulder and sat on his chair between Deuce and Ace. It was great to see them without that collar, unlike last time.

“I blame Grim really,” Jonah said smiling as he sat next to Deuce followed by Cater who sat next to him. “It took us nearly ten minutes to wake him up.”

“Those ghosts woke me up at four in the morning!” Grim screamed, throwing his paws to the air. “It was too early, so of course I’m going to go back to sleep!”

Ace laughed. “Well, at least I don’t have to hear you mumbling.”

Grim glared at the ginger-head. “You’re blaming me?! You took half of the bed!”

Ace turned his head toward the demon-cat, glaring back. “You’re supposed to sleep in the box! Cats love boxes!”

Grim flew up a bit to stared Ace eyes-to-eyes. “I’m not a cat! And there was no way I’m sleeping under Deuce’s stinky feet.”

Deuce, who was talking to Cater earlier, turned his head toward them, clearly taken back. “Wha- Don’t bring me up in your fight!”

Ace rolled his eyes. “Oh, so you’re not going to complain about this cat’s sleep-talking?”

Grim looked pretty offended but Deuce just groaned. “If I want to complain, I can complain you loud snoring!”

Grim nodded in agreement. “Such a sound polluter!”

“As if you’re not!” Ace screamed.

Jonah watched them in amusement. Just before they could continue, a student walked up to the front, standing in front of the main long table. He was wearing a rabbit ear and carrying a bronze trumpet.

“Guys, shhh!” Jonah hushed, stopping Grim from tearing Ace’s hair off. The three freshmen turned to him. He glanced at the trumpet boy before turning back to his crew. “It’s time.”

The guy played a fanfare, silencing everyone. When he was done, he announced, “Make way for our leader, the Crimson Ruler: Prefect Riddle!”

Just like last time, two students who were standing next to the double door grabbed the handle and pulled it. From behind, they could see Riddle stood there, once again wearing his version of the Heartslabyul’s dorm uniform proudly. “Three cheers for Prefect Riddle!” the students cheered, including everyone on Jonah’s table. He saw Trey walked behind Riddle, carrying a pizza box-sized decorated with ribbon. Riddle walked toward his seat, looking around. Jonah smiled when Riddle glanced at him, giving him a small wave, which made Riddle slightly blush.

“The roses are red and the tablecloths are white,” Riddle started mumbling. He reached for the yellow teapot on his table. “And the dormouse is inside the teapot like planned...” When he opened the lid of the teapot, there was nothing it. Riddle bit his lip before sighing. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Trey placed the box at the end of the table before walking toward his seat beside Riddle. “You don’t have to change so suddenly, you know?” the vice prefect said. “And we can just use the jam on the scones if you’d like. We don’t have to stop altogether at once. We can take things slowly.”

Riddle sighed, lips curled up into a smile. “Yes, you’re right.” Riddle put down the teacup on the table again and he sat down. He picked up his teacup, looking at the crowd. “Does anyone have their teacups already?” The students immediately grabbed their cup. Smiling, Riddle raised his cup. “A toast to the Revenge Unbirthday Party. Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

Riddle put down his cup and gestured for Trey to grab the boxes. After saying his thanks to Trey, Riddle walked toward Jonah’s table.

“So what happened to the tart you made, Prefect?” Ace asked, standing up from his seat.

Riddle and Jonah exchanged a glance and the pirate gave him a grin, which made Riddle blushed again. Riddle turned back to Ace. “I-I made them according to the recipe. Here.” Riddle put the boxes on the table. “I made these strawberry tarts.”

“Ooo~” Grim rubbed his paws. “I wanna hurry up and eat~!” Grim picked up the top-most box, the one with the blue ribbon, different from the other boxes with black ribbon. Grim pulled the blue ribbon off and opened the box, revealing the shining strawberry tart. “This looks so good!”

“Ah, I’ll take a pic first so don’t slice it yet!” Cater took out his camera and put it on selfie mode. Ace immediately put the box onto the confused Riddle’s hand as Cater pulled him into a one-sided hug. The whole gang stood behind them, struck a pose as the camera took the picture. “Okay, done~!”

“Alright, time to dig in!” Ace cheered. Trey held up a knife and cut the tart, one for each people on the table except Riddle, who wanted to see their reaction, and Jonah, who for some reason was smiling too much since Grim pulled the ribbon.

When Deuce took a bite, his eyes widened. “Hngh?!”

Trey and Cater looked at their bitten tart. “This tart…”

“IT’S SALTY!” screamed Grim and Ace.

Riddle’s eyes widened. “EH!?”

“What the hell?!” Ace stuck out his tongue, hoping that the taste would disappear. “It’s like eating the ocean! What’d you put in these?!”

Riddle looked between them. “I... We bought all the ingredients and followed the recipe book to the last letter. There shouldn’t be anything wro— Ah!” He slammed his fist into his palm, eyes widened. “The oyster sauce!”

Deuce’s face became pale. “That was from an oyster sauce?”

“Oh, my stars!” Everybody turned to Jonah who was laughing out loud while hugging his stomach. “This is hilarious!”

Riddle was quick to connect the dots. “You still put it there?”

Ace gasped, betrayed. “Captain! You’re not supposed to help him!”

“Nu-uh.” Jonah waved his index finger, tutting him. “You said that Trey couldn’t help him. You didn’t specify that I couldn’t.”

Grim laughed. “HA! He found a loophole!”

“Don’t worry, it’s just one of the tart, you hit the jackpot,” Jonah said, opening the other boxes with black ribbon. “The others are normal tarts if you want.” He cut the tarts and shared the box with everyone. “Everyone, dig in!”

Everyone at the party got one piece of the tart. Most of them compliment the delicious tarts, and since they didn’t know that Jonah was helping, they gave all the credits to Riddle, which made the prefect more flustered.

“To be fair, Senior Riddle nearly put it there too,” Jonah said when he walked back to his table.

Riddle’s cheeks became red from embarrassment. “I mean, when we were little Trey told me that even though it’s not written in the recipe, a delicious tart always has oyster sauce as a secret ingredient...”

“Ugh... As if...!” Ace groaned, licking his fingers from his finished tart, the normal one this time. “You should’ve figured out he was lying if you think about it for a bit.”

Trey laughed as he messed with Riddle’s hair. “I didn’t think that you’d take that joke seriously! Hahahaha!”

Riddle pouted, but he joined the laugh. “You’re right. It was foolish of me. Ahaha.”

Deuce smiled. “Haha, it’s so bad it makes us laugh, huh.”

Ace sighed, but he was grinning. “Guess we have no choice but to laugh at it, y’know? Hahaha!”

“But, yanno, it’s kinda delicious in its own right, too,” said Grim as he took another piece of the salty tart.

Cater nodded in agreement. “Oh, I can kinda understand~! It’s not completely inedible~!”

Deuce’s eyes widened as he turned to Cater. “Is your palette just as crazy as Grim, Senior Diamond?!”

Cater chuckled. “No, not at all~”

Trey had a smirk on his face. “The tart is delicious because it’s not sweet, right?”

Cater paused. “Eh?”

Trey continued, “Cater, you hate sweets.”

Jonah turned to Cater. “Is that so, Senior Cater?”

Cater laughed and scratched behind his head. “Eh, eh...? Trey, how did you know that...? I’ve never told anyone that I didn’t like sweet things though...”

’ attitude.”

“I’ll remember that,” Trey chuckled. “I’ll make you some quiche for the next unbirthday party, don’t worry~”

“Well, thank you.” Cater smiled at him. “Make them look ‘grammable like a cake, got it?”

Trey turned to Jonah. “And since you’re the only one here who can cook, I could use some help.”

Jonah smiled as he took another slice of the tart. “A pleasure.”

“Fufufu~ If Trey and Jonah bake together, it will be a purr-fect heaven on the plate~”

Everyone paused.

“Who said that?” Ace asked looking around.

Deuce frowned. “‘Purr-fect’? Was that a cat pun?”

Ace, Deuce, and Grim eyes widened as they turned to Jonah. He was about to bite it when suddenly as if his hand was guided to the side of his head. They heard a soft “Nom~” before the tart was bitten by an invisible force.

“What the…”

A head suddenly popped up beside Jonah’s head, followed by a body of a familiar cat-boy, one hand holding Jonah’s hand while the other holding his shoulder. Che’nya licked his lips. “Hmm~ Good as always~”

Riddle stood up from his seat, his chair screeching behind him. “Che’nya!? What are you doing here?”

Che’nya gave the prefect a sideways glance, smiling at him. “Hm~? I came to celebrate the unbirthday party~! Congrats, Riddle~!”

Riddle frowned at him. He glanced at Ace, Deuce, and Grim. They didn’t look happy how Che’nya was so touchy with Jonah. And to be honest, so did him. “The Unbirthday Party is a tradition exclusive to the Heartslabyul Dorm,” he said, standing tall, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It doesn’t concern you, does it?”

“Nyah~ But the captain is invited?” Che’nya started nuzzling against Jonah’s cheek and the poor captain couldn’t do anything. That’s just not fair!”

“Oi!” Ace stood up from his seat followed by Deuce and a hissing Grim. “Keep your furry hands off the captain!”

“Ehe~ Are they officially your minions, Jonah~?” Che’nya laughed. “You think you can let me back in the circle?”

Jonah pulled back his hand, but once again Che’nya put his arms around him, giving an uncomfortable hug. “What are you talking about?”

Che’nya smile turned into a smirk. “Royal Sword Academy is not as cat-tastrophic without you there.”

_..._

_Wait…_

_What…_

“Wait a minute...” Deuce said slowly, trying to process everything. “Are you saying that you’re from another school!?”

Ace eyes widened. He pointed accusingly at the grinning Che’nya as he screamed, “And from Royal Sword Academy to boot!?”

That gained everyone’s attention.

“Did he just say Royal Sword Academy?”

“One of those stuck up assholes is here?!”

“What’d you say!? Where is he!? We’ll toss him out!”

Che’nya let go of Jonah and stepped back. “Whoopsies~ I already had my tart, so it’s time for meow to go home~ ‘Till we meet again, Captain Argentum~”

Jonah stood from his seat, turning around to Che’nya with a pale face. “Wait-”

But the cat-boy just gave a bow and disappeared, laughing, “Fufufufun~”

“He got away!”

“After him!”

Most of the students ran in various directions, trying to find the cat-boy. Riddle sighed and massaged his temple. Why didn’t these last two unbirthday parties go well? But more importantly…

“They got murderous all of a sudden,” Grim commented.

Cater sighed. “Night Raven College students basically treat Royal Sword Academy students like enemies.”

Trey shook his head. “It’s a rivalry that’s been going on for 100 years, after all...” But then, he glanced at the captain. “But, Jonah... You studied there?”

Jonah flinched, quickly turning around toward them. “No! I... I don’t... I think...” He looked down at his shoes. Riddle noticed that his fists were trembling. His voice even became softer. “I... I don’t remember.”

The prefect frowned at him. Even Ace, Deuce, and Grim exchanged glances. “What do you mean?” they asked.

Jonah sighed and sat down in his chair. He wasn’t looking up at him, fists clenched on top of his thighs. “I haven’t told you guys.” His voice sounded sad. “But I can’t remember anything from my past. So, I can’t be certain whether I’m from that cat’s school or not.”

“Why you never tell us?” Ace whispered, sounded hurt.

Jonah shook his head. “Because I’m not sure of it myself. I’m just as lost as you are. Sorry.”

There was silence between them. None of them understand this. Now that they think about it, they never really knew anything about the pirate boy in front of them. All they knew was that he attracted trouble and one of the infamous troublesome teens, but at the same time, was able to lead said troublesome teens even became close friends with the Crimson Tyrant. But nobody bothered to ask him who he was…

Ace was the first one to break the silence. He walked toward the eye-patch boy. “You know,” he said, making Jonah flinched a bit. “Even if you are a former student there, we can still be friends.”

The boy blinked confusedly as he looked up at him. “Eh?”

Ace gave him a small smile as he patted his shoulder. “You’re probably the only cool kid there anyway.”

Deuce also walked toward him. “We’ll follow you anywhere, Captain.”

Grim added by jumping to Jonah’s lap and Riddle could’ve sworn the demon-cat purred. “Besides, The Great Me still need my henchman!

“Guys…” Jonah’s mouth pulled into a smile filled with gratitude. His eyes felt hot for some reason, but he quickly wiped the tear away. “Thank you.”

Cater and Trey exchanged glances at the scene, while Riddle was still watching the small group of students. This reminded him of his childhood, back when he, Trey, and Che’nya were still playing together. It was heartwarming.

Cater clapped his hand. “Well, well~ Let’s not talk about something gloomy on such a happy day~! Let’s just enjoy our own unbirthday party~!”

“Nyaha!” Grim laughed. “I’ll eat my fill until I drop!” He flew back to the table and grabbed the box of tarts. He raised it above his head as he cheered, “Hooray for Unbirthday Parties!”

The rest of the small gang smiled at each one. They raised their fist to the air, following Grim’s cheer, “Hooray!”

_A very merry unbirthday to you!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys!  
> We've finally reached the end! 20 chapters in one month and we're still going strong!  
> Just like I said in the last few chapters: On Sunday, there won't be any update, but instead, I will be doing a Recap Episode. I will be answering your questions and maybe share some behind the scene of what happened during the writings of this arc.  
> If you have any questions, you can send your messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/])
> 
> See you on Monday for the premiere of 'Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide'!


	36. I Want Them to Turn Black! (Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “In every situation that happened, there’s always a reason behind them. As Master Oogway once said: _There are no accidents_.”

“I’m starving after that boring history lesson...” Grim muttered one morning after Mr. Trein’s history class. He, along with Ace and Deuce, was standing outside the class, waiting for Jonah who was talking about his supplementary lesson. Even after two weeks, the boy still had trouble keeping up with the lesson since he knew nothing, except basic reading, counting, and speaking.

But then the demon-cat grinned. “Luckily, I have this!” Out of nowhere, he took out a black rock.

“Wait,” Ace turned toward Grim. “Isn’t the same rock we found at the Dwarfs’ Mine?”

Deuce squinted his eyes. “You’re right... Where did it come from?”

“Found it after we defeated Riddle.” Grim sniffed the rock, sighing in delight. “I’ll never forget that flavor! Thanks for the food~!” He immediately popped the stone into his mouth. “Hm~! It starts out with a rich sweetness then finishes with the slightest hint of bitterness for an aromatic experience ~! It’s a different taste from the last one I had!”

Ace groaned. “Dude. I know that you’re a glutton but don’t just go around picking stuff from the ground.”

Deuce sighed. “I don’t think that doing this constantly would do you good.”

Ace just shrugged. “Ah, he’s a monster so he’s probably made differently from us.”

Grim licked, his lips humming in delight. “Hm, it’s got a refreshing and soft kind of taste, yanno?”

The classroom door finally opened, and Jonah came out with an exhausted look on his face. He let out a sigh as he put some stacks of papers into his bag.

Ace looked at the redhead worriedly. “Dude, you’re okay?”

“No...” Jonah groaned. “I can’t believe I have the lowest score in that quiz... It was the most basic of all basic and I got 27 out of 100!”

Ace winched. “Captain, you can’t be that stupid...”

Deuce nodded in agreement. “Yeah. And don’t worry. I got a low score too. Only 69.”

Ace snorted. “Heh. 69.”

Deuce was slow in processing the meaning. You could see his head was buffering before suddenly his face turned red. “Ace, please! Grow up!”

Meanwhile, Grim smirked at Jonah, his paws on his hips. “I got 60! This proves that I am way smarter than you!”

Jonah huffed. “You barely pass that!”

The smirk on Grim’s face didn’t leave. “I still have a higher score than you~”

Jonah groaned and ran his hand on his face. “I can’t believe I’m stupider than a raccoon.” Ignoring the fuming exclaim of ‘I’m not a raccoon!’ from Grim, he continued, “And now the headmaster wants to see me after school. He probably knows about my grade already...”

Deuce turned to the captain. “Wait. The headmaster is also looking for me.”

Ace nodded. “Me too. I wonder what he’s gonna talk to us about.”

“If I were to guess, it probably concerns the incident with Prefect Rosehearts the other day,” the blunette suggested to which Ace shrugged.

“Probably. That ‘evil villain berserker mode’, huh?” Grim flew to Jonah’s head and sat on it. “Hah! He might give me canned tuna as a reward for being a big help that day!”

Jonah rolled his eye. “I doubt it.”

* * *

The knock on the door made Crowley looked up from the document he was working on. “Come in.”

Spade’s head popped in first when he opened the door. “Pardon the intrusion, Headmaster.”

Trappola followed him. “Pardon us.”

Argentum and Grim walked in the last, closing the door behind him as he stood between Trappola and Spade in front of his table. “Before you say anything,” the eye-patch boy said, raising his hands. “I am sorry. I think I missed my primary education. I swear I’m not stupid!”

Crowley raised an eyebrow at him. “I...” he cleared his throat, “We’ll be talking about your grades later.” Argentum sighed, but soon pouted when Trappola snickered at him. Crowley continued, “This will concern the incident that happened in Heartslabyul Dorm the other day, but I figured that I should thoroughly explain it to you. I figured that as fellow magicians.” He glanced at the three students, earning their complete focus. “There is a need for you to be fully aware of the consequences that could happen.”

“You mean, the overblot, sir?” Spade asked.

Crowley nodded. “Indeed, that’s correct.”

Trappola hummed, pinching his chin with his thumb and index finger. “I’ve heard about it from my big bro before, but... I didn’t expect that that’d happen during overblot.” He frowned. “He really went full ‘evil villain berserker’ mode, huh.”

Argentum raised his hand. “Excuse me. But what does ‘blot’ mean in the first place?”

Grim also nodded. “I don’t get it either.”

Crowley perked up at this. “Oh, that’s right. I have to explain starting with that for both of you.” He smiled as he stood up. “Then, let me tell you. Oh, how gracious of me~”

Walking toward the end of the room, Crowley waved his hand. The mirror on his belt and top hat suddenly glow as purple light came out from it, forming a silhouette of Prefect Rosehearts, earning a gasp from the three boys and cat.

Thus, Crowley started to explain. “Blot is akin to ‘wasted material’ that accompanies each magic use. Let’s take this for example. An automobile needs fuel in order to move, and at the same time it is used, smoke comes out from the exhaust pipe, correct?” The three boys nodded. “When magical energy is used, blot occurs at the same time.” The silhouette of Rosehearts took out his staff as a white magic circle appeared in front of it. However, they also realized some black smoke appeared from below the silhouette’s feet. “There have been present and older historical records of research being done about it, however, it’s still largely a mystery. There is only one thing we are certain of. It is highly toxic and once it is used too much, it can greatly harm one’s mind and body.”

Trappola snapped his finger. “Oh, yeah. I remember my granny telling me: _‘Don’t use your magic so willy-nilly if you don’t want to blot!’_ or somethin’ like that.”

Crowley nodded. “Such great powers go hand-in-hand with incomparable risks. Not even the greatest magicians have an unlimited supply of magical energy.”

Grim gasped, paws on his cheeks. “In other words, the more you use magic, the more it becomes bad for the body?!”

“No, not completely,” Crowley immediately said before the students started panicking. “If you take proper rest, and given enough time off, the blot will disappear on its own.” The students sighed in relief, and he continued, “A magical jewel does not exist simply to be an outlet for one’s magic. One other purpose it has is to accumulate Blot that could directly affect the caster. To an extent, it is a wonderful item that can carry such a huge burden.”

“I see...” Spade hummed. “In other words, once our magical jewels have become hazy, it’s a sign for us to rest our bodies, correct?”

“That is correct. Blot disappears if you eat, sleep, and rest properly,” Crowley said, nodding. “Magical energy comes in all sorts of varieties. Except for a select few, the maximum permissible amount of magical energy is not that large.”

Argentum frowned. “What do you mean?”

“In other words, the more magical energy a person has…” He waved his hand again and the silhouette of Rosehearts stabbed its staff to the ground, the magic circle became bigger. “The more careful he has to be about the accumulation of blot.” The dark smoke under its feet became thicker, waving like tentacles.

“So, if we keep using magic without thinking, it’s easier for us to accumulate Blot, you mean?” Trappola asked.

“To an extent, yes. Though, considering your skills with magic, for now, I don’t think you have to worry too much about blot yet.” Crowley smiled widely, giving them a thumbs up. “What a relief, huh~?”

The students exchanged glances before giving him the ‘are-you-kidding-me’ looks. Crowley cleared his throat again. “The magician’s overall state and well-being play a huge influence on their magical limit before experiencing blot.” He waved his hand again. The silhouette fell to its knees, clutching its chest, its clothes slowly turned into the overblot form. Crowley noticed Argentum curled up his fists, glaring at him. _Did he push too far?_ But he chose to ignore it, for their own sake and knowledge, and continued, “Anger, sorrow, terror, confusion... Experiencing constant negative energies like that makes it easier for blot to accumulate. It becomes easier for one to go into overblot.” The silhouette let out a silent scream as the black smoke formed into the Queen-of-Heart-like monster, earning a gasp from them. “A gigantic shadow similar to the one Rosehearts had when he went berserk. I guess you could call it the manifestation of all the negative energies and all the blot that Rosehearts has accumulated.”

Crowley sighed and waved his hand again, making the silhouette disappeared as he walked back to his seat. “Though to be honest, I know not much more than this. From what we know, there are multiple ways a magician can experience overblot. However, there aren’t that many examples out there.”

Trappola groaned. “That’s not good to not have enough examples! I don’t wanna experience that ever again.”

Crowley sighed as he sat back in his chair. “It was a miracle that you were able to make Rosehearts come back to his senses as soon as it happened, but if he were left alone then...” He buried his face into his hands. “AHHHH! I DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT! HOW FRIGHTENING!”

Grim jumped, nearly falling of Jonah’s head. “Wha–! Don’t just start screaming like that!”

Crowley raised his head again, clearing his throat. “Ahem, I’m sorry. I suddenly lost my composure,” he said. “It was quite the long explanation, but magic use comes with equal dangers, is what I’m trying to point out. Everyone, please do not forget my warnings.” He earned a collective of “Yes, Sir” from them.

Crowley clapped his hands. “And that is all for your ever so kind headmaster’s special lessons! Now, Argentum.” The said boy straighten up a bit. “Let’s talk for a bit. Everyone, you are dismissed.”

Spade and Trappola gave Argentum a pity looks while Argentum just shrugged at him. Grim jumped off his head and landed on Spade’s shoulder. They gave him a small wave before exiting the office with Trappola closing the door behind him.

“So…” Argentum took a deep breath. “Are you going to ground me?”

“Ground-” Crowley shook his head. “No no no! This is not about your grade.”

“Huh?” Crowley stood up from his seat again and walked toward him. He bent down a bit so they could see each other face-to-face.

“Can I see your eye for a moment?” he asked.

Argentum frowned. “Why?”

“I need to check that you’re okay,” Crowley answered. “I know you don’t feel any pain, but I just need to make sure.”

Argentum blinked a couple of times before saying, “Okay.” He reached out behind his ears and pulled the strings, pulling down the eye-patch and revealing his strange eye. Crowley used one hand to raise the boy’s chin and the other, with his thumb and index finger, to widen the eye. It looked like no potion can heal the bruise-like skin, along with the yellow sclera and red iris. They looked the same as when he check previously. Though he was a bit concern about the black splotch there that hadn’t disappear since the overblot incident…

Crowley hummed. “Okay.” He pulled back his hands, letting Argentum blinked a few times before putting back his eye patch. “There doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

“Headmaster.” The boy looked up at him. “What happened back then? How… Why…?” He pointed to his eye-patch and Crowley already knew what he was asking. The headmaster sighed.

“To be honest, I don’t know, Mister Argentum,” he said, leaning against his table. “This is the first time I saw something like that. It was hard to learn about blotting, let alone finding something that can absorb the blot.”

Argentum reached for his eye-patch, palm pressed against it. “What am I supposed to do?”

Crowley sighed again and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Right now, just like the others, you need to make sure you have enough sleep, rest, and eat properly. If you suddenly feel something off with yourself or feeling sick, just quickly contact me.”

Argentum nodded at him. “Alright.”

“Good.” Crowley let his hand slid off him. “Now, run along then. You have enough adventure at this moment.”

Argentum chuckled. “Actually, Headmaster. I have the feeling that…” He raised his head toward him, eye twinkling in excitement and lips pulled into a huge, bright, smile. “My adventure has just begun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's supposed to be a fight scene here, but I don't feel like writing a fight scene in a filler arc.  
> This scene is basically the explanation during the early Leona's part. I figure Crowley would like to give his overblot explanation as soon as possible.  
> The title is from 'Paint It Black' from The Rolling Stones.
> 
> I'm thinking, since the filer arc won't take too long, I can just make one long note to conclude the arc.


	37. Come On and Get Your Game On!(Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “School can be hard. But if you have great friends who share the same interest with you, maybe it won’t be so bad. School Clubs are also good to explore new interests and meeting new friends. So, let’s sing it with Spongebob Squarepants: _Welcome to our club! Welcome to our club! Welcome, Squidward! Welcome, Squidward! Welcome, Squidward! Welcome, Squidward!_ ”

Jonah was sitting alone at the corner of the library. Various opened books scattered around his table and his assignment paper have only the word 'The' on it. He sighed as he started to write, mumbling every word he had written. " _The Gargoyle Strike of 1911 was a wildcat strike of gargoyles that occurred in 1911. A 'wildcat strike' refers to stopping of work by unionized workers without authorization from the union. As it mentions 'the wildcats were winning,' likely things were moving in favor of the Gargoyles when something noteworthy happened..._ " He paused as he reread the sentences. "Argh..." He ripped that paper from his book and scrunched it in his hands. "Nope. Nope. Too vague..." He groaned and pressed his forehead onto the table. "Who cares about gargoyle anyway..."

"Jonah?"

Jonah turned his face toward the voice and saw Deuce, bringing a stack of papers, walking toward him. "What's up, Deuce?" he greeted, waving his hand lazily.

"Lucky that I find you here. The Prefect was just wondering whether or not you have submitted a club registration," the blunette said. "Since Ace only just submit it yesterday, he's worried that you haven't done that too."

Jonah frowned and stared at Deuce for the longest time. "We... We have clubs here?"

Deuce blinked. "You don't know?"

Jonah slowly shook his head. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah. We had an open house last week- Oh..." Something clicked inside Deuce's head. "That's right. You were on a break with the Prefect."

"Oh..." Jonah muttered. "Grim probably didn't give me the registration form."

"Oh!" Deuce looked through the stack he was carrying and pulled out a paper. "Here."

Jonah smiled at Deuce and read the form. There are several options there: Basketball, Hockey, Light Music, Science, Horse-Riding...

Wait a minute...

"There aren't any Cooking Club?" Jonah frowned. "That's just not fair."

"I know how that feels," Deuce sighed. "Sadly, there’s no magical wheel club..."

Jonah didn't dare to ask what the heck a 'magical wheel' is. He looked down at the registration paper again, thinking about his options. Definitely not the Science Club (he had enough of Mister Crewel threatening to spank him every time his cauldron burst). And definitely no sports or music. His only options now we're Studying Movie, Gargoyle Appreciation, and Board Game.

"Heh~ what’s wrong, baby seal~?"

Both Deuce and Jonah turned toward the sound as saw two teal haired teen, leaning against the bookshelves. Jonah was about to greet the Leech twins, but then he noticed that he couldn't really tell the difference between them yet. So, he just awkwardly waved his hand. "Hi?"

Deuce leaned closer to him. "Do you know them?" he whispered.

Jonah shrugged. "Sort of."

The twins exchanged a glance, smiling at each other as if they had a telepathic conversation. They walked up toward the two first-years. "It seems to me like you are deeply troubled by something..." said the boy with the left dark strand as he smiled at Jonah.

Meanwhile, the boy with the right dark strand snatched the registration paper from Jonah's hand. "Eh~ Are you signing up for a club?"

"Ah!" Jonah stood up from his seat, trying to take back his paper. But the other boy had the advantage of being taller than him. "Give it back!"

"Hey." Deuce tried to step forward. "Leave him alone."

The right-strand boy just gave him a dark glance at him, making Deuce stopped his track. The boy glanced back at Jonah, his sunny personality returned. "What club are you going to join, baby seal?"

"I'm not a seal!" Jonah sighed. "And I don't know yet."

"Any consideration yet?" the left-strand boy asked.

Jonah shrugged, turning his head toward the other twin. "Probably between Studying Movie, Gargoyle Appreciation, and Board Game."

"Oo~" the right-strand boy cooed. "The same club as Azul!"

Jonah perked up at that. "Senior Azul? Which club is he in?"

"The Board Game club," the left-strand boy said. "Actually, I think they have a meeting today."

Jonah's eyes widened at this. "You know where this club is?"

"We know~" the right-strand boy cheered. He looked at the table and immediately grabbed Jonah's pencil. He immediately checked the 'Board Game Club' before putting it on top of Deuce's stacked papers. "Please, write down everything you need."

Before Jonah or Deuce could protest, the boy grabbed Jonah's back and pushed him out of the library. "Come on~ we need to see Azul before they end their meeting~!"

"Ah! Wait-"

The other twin laughed and turned to Deuce. "Don't worry. We'll take care of your friend," he said. "Please, could you tidy up his things?"

Before Deuce could answer him, he had already walked out of the library, following his twin and the pirate boy.

* * *

"Azul~!"

The classroom door opened, causing Azul, Idia, and Ortho to look up toward the newcomers. It was not uncommon for Floyd to suddenly enter the classroom unannounced in the middle of his club meeting. But what unusual was that he brought someone familiar with him.

"We have a new member for you~!" Floyd cheered again as he pushed Jonah in, nearly stumbling his own feet. The small boy looked up and his eye brightened when he was Azul.

"Bye~" Before any of them could react Floyd closed the door again. He saw the boy sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. Azul himself sighed, before he stood up, earning a questioning look from Idia. He just walked passed him and walked toward the first-year.

"Well, it looks like we've met again, Mister Jonah," he greeted, offering a hand.

Jonah let out a chuckled as he turned to face Azul. "I seemed so, Senior Azul," he said, taking the hand and gave him a firm shake. "I'm sorry I didn't see you sooner. I was..." He paused, eye-rolled upward, trying to find a perfect word. "Occupied."

Azul nodded. He already heard the news about the incident at Heartslabyul. Everyone had heard about it. It was the talk of the month. "I've heard about Riddle's Overblotting," he said. "You were there, weren't you?"

Jonah winched. "It was kinda inevitable."

Azul chuckled. For some reason, he had already expected that to come out from Jonah's mouth. "You should tell me more someday."

Jonah just smiled. When they let go of their hand, the eye-patch boy perked up again. "Oh, and Senior Azul, about my dorm-"

"Ah, ah, ah~" Azul put a hand on the smaller boy's, stopping him. "We don't talk about business during the club sessions. We're on the neutral ground here." He started to guide Jonah the table where Idia and Ortho were waiting. "And Floyd mentioned... a new member?"

"Yeah." Jonah sighed, scratching the back of his head. "There isn't any club suited for me, and the registration deadline is today, so... I'm kinda in a tight spot."

Azul let out another chuckle. "Well, I think I can convince you that the Board Game Club is not as boring as it sounded." When they reached the table, Azul gestured to the two other people. "We're actually going to play a game."

"Hello there." Jonah gave them a small wave. Ortho waved back excitedly, meanwhile, Idia was trying to make himself as small as possible. Kinda reminded Azul of how the first time they met.

"You're..." The Ignihyde Prefect spoke in a small voice. "You're the kid at the Entrance Exam."

Jonah laughed, remembering the chaotic moment. "I am." He smiled at Idia, thrusting his hand forward. "I haven't met you before. My name is Jonah Argentum."

Idia scooted away a little, only giving him a nod. "I remember. I was there."

Jonah blinked in surprise. "Oh? Are you a first-year too?"

"Big brother is the Prefect of Ignihyde!" Ortho cheered, to which Idia's eyes widened. "He doesn't like to go out so he used his tablet."

"Ortho!" He tried to reach for his brother, trying to stop him from spouting any more info, but Ortho managed to avoid Idia's hands, taking Jonah's offered hand with his two smaller ones.

"I'm Ortho, his little brother!" he said, to which Jonah chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you," Jonah answered.

Azul cleared his throat as Ortho went back to sit next to Idia again. "Well, Idia here just got us some boring luck-based game."

Idia suddenly reverted back to his normal, tired-gamer tone. "You just don’t have faith that you can win in games where you cannot strategize."

Jonah looked down at the board game. " _Let's Make Golds_?" He read the name of the game was written on the board out loud, turning to both Idia and Azul with questioning looks.

Idia nodded. "It's a board game which you play by rolling a certain number on the six-sided die." His voice sounded more confident as he explained. "You can move around the game board, buying and trading properties, and developing them with cottages and mansions. Players collect rent from their opponents, with the goal being to drive them into bankruptcy. Money can also be gained or lost through Chance and Community Chest cards, and tax squares; players can end up in jail, which they cannot move from until they have met one of several conditions."

Jonah smiled at Idia. "That's sounds interesting."

Idia started at the eye-patch boy with surprise. People rarely agree with him. Mostly because he didn't talk that much and social-interaction was just too hard for him. He couldn't help but smile a little. "I know, right? Unpredictable games are fun as well."

Azul huffed. "Well, I just happen to like games where you can work with strategies."

Idia rolled his eyes at him. "Do you not tire of games were you always have to use your head?"

"Not at all."

"I don't mind playing this game," Jonah said, earning the focuses of the other three. "How about this: whoever wins this can decide which game we get to play next week."

Azul hummed, considering his options. "Interesting."

"I don't know..." Idia shrugged. "Even the omnipotent Master Azul cannot compete against luck. He does not have the intellect to overthrow the side of a die."

Azul glared at him. "...Who do you think you’re talking to? Do you think I would lose to you in a simple game of dice throwing?"

Idia let out a small snicker. "Did I say anything about losing? I just told you to not overexert yourself, I’m fine with it."

Jonah just smiled at the interaction. He had seen this between Ace and Deuce too many times. He knew Azul was going to take the challenge. "You are trying to stir me up... but fine. For today I shall go along with your plan."

"Can I join?" Ortho asked, raising his hand.

Idia glanced at his brother and smiled. "That's why you're here right?"

Ortho nodded excitedly, to which Jonah added, with a nod and a smile. "The more the merrier."

"Yay!" Ortho threw his hands to the air. Three other older boys couldn't help but smile at the child's excitement. "I choose the giant lizard!"

Ortho immediately reached for his chosen token. Idia was trying not to pout too much and reached for the cat. Meanwhile, Azul reached for the wizard hat while Jonah took the ship.

"Alright." Jonah smiled, challenging everyone in the room. "Let's play."

* * *

"Haah... Where is he..." Grim groaned as he laid on his stomach on top of Deuce's head. "It's almost dinner time and I need my chef back."

Deuce glanced upward to the cat. "He hadn't appeared in the library again since that twins meet us."

"Are you sure he's not being kidnapped?" Ace asked, looking around to find a sign of the captain.

Deuce raised an eyebrow at Ace, but still, he was worried too. "You can't get kidnapped here."

Ace rolled his eyes. Before he could retort him a scream suddenly sound through the hall. "I HATE YOU!"

Grim nearly fell of Deuce head if he didn't grip on his hair. "Ow! Don't pull it!" Deuce yelped.

"Sorry," Grim said. His ears perked up again. "Did you guys hear that?"

Ace looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. "I think it's from here."

The first-years walked up to the door of a classroom and took a peek inside. All of a sudden, they could just feel the dark aura surrounded the students inside there.

"Oh, is that so?" said one with a glasses, pushing it up to his nose with a dangerous glint as he smirked. "Then maybe you should think twice before ruining my golden plan."

The one with fiery blue eyes groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ortho, give Azul your 200 galleons, you've landed on his property."

"NO!" The little kid, who looks like he was a part robot, whined. "He's in jail! I'm not giving my money to a criminal!"

The glasses-dude glared at the small kid. "Young man, are you trying to CHANGE THE RULE OF THE GAME?!"

Sitting quietly, was Jonah, looking worriedly between the two screaming people. "Senior Idia, why are we screaming?"

"You have the right to remind silent, Jonah!" Idia, the fiery-haired teen, suddenly snapped, turning his head to Jonah, who looked offended. "You the one who started this by stealing my last polar express railway."

Ortho slammed his palms to the table. "I WISH I WAS NEVER BORN!"

Idia turned his head toward the little kid. "ME TOO!" he screamed, standing up from his seat. "YOU THINK I WANTED THIS?!"

The shouting festival continued and the first-years had to witness a near bloodbath over a board game. "Let's just..." Ace whispered to his two friends. "Leave him be... Let's eat at the cafeteria..." Deuce and Grim nodded as they closed the door, just when the glasses boy threw the board game off the table and the screaming continued.

By the end of the day, Jonah was officially in the Board Game Club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka The chapter where they play Monopoly. Originally I want to make this a full-on Monopoly tournament, but I can't really have the energy, so I just write one scene. It's a direct reference to TheOdd1'sOut Tabletop Game video.  
> Also, when Deuce said 'magical wheel', I thought he was talking about a human-sized magic hamster ball. I need more lore!  
> The title of this chapter is from 'Get Your Game On' the opening to Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yes, I reused this song)
> 
> Unfortunately, today I won't be doing double updates. I have homework that I needed to finish and preparing for my finals, or probably working on some other fanfic or the final chapter of the arc.


	38. It’s the Same as Having Wings!(Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "PewDiePie once said: _Don't be a salad, be the best damn broccoli you could ever be._ If we take this out context, we can see it like this: It's always great to stand out than the other. And the easiest way to do that in school: Find the best subject, and nailed them!"

P.E. class was probably Epel's most favorite class. Not only that the school’s athletic wear is durable and easy to move in, way simpler than Pomefiore uniform, but because he's good at it. As a child from a family of farmers, he was so used to heavy lifting, and unsurprisingly, he's quite strong underneath that petite body. Then again, maybe the Dark Mirror put him in Pomefiore because of said petit body instead of the muscle. But, wait. He didn't want to think about that. He just wanted to enjoy and pass this class.

"Alright, class!" Vargas's voice was loud, gaining all attention from all the students. "I want Class A on the right, Class B on the right, face-to-face."

Epel immediately took a random spot among class B. In front of him was a boy from class A with a demon-cat on his shoulder. The student gave him a small wave and Epel answered him with a nod.

"Alright, fellow!" Vargas said once again. "Laid your broom on your right side and try to call your broom. Just stick out your right hand and say: 'up'."

The word 'up' was barely out of his mouth before Epel's broom was in his hand. Epel watched as the other brooms jumped into their owner's hands. He watched the student in front of him, talking to the cat. The student stuck out his hand.

"Okay, Grim, I'm ready," said the boy.

The demon-cat, Grim, nodded, and stuck out his paws. "UP!" he shouted. And the broom went up in fast speed-

_*whack*_

-and smacked the boy on the nose.

"OW!"

"I thought you were ready!" Grim laughed.

The boy rubbed his nose and glared at the cat. "You put too much magic into it!"

Epel shook his head. Was it really that difficult? He noticed a ginger-haired Heartslabyul student whose broom nearly flew past him if it wasn't for the boy holding it with both hands, while the blunette's broom beside him was somersaulting the ground.

Everyone put up their brooms, with the teacher correcting the posture and grip of each student. As soon as he was sure no one would fall, Vargas said, "When I blow the whistle - kick the ground hard. Keep the broom steady, drift for a while, lean forward, and touch down. Ready? In three, two..."

The whistle blew hard and Epel's broom took off, the wind blew against his hair, he lifted his feet off the ground. Even though he was only a few feet, it was the most fun Epel had ever had.

They shouldn't be too high from the ground. They should practice starting and stopping, playing with speed only when they feel comfortable with sitting on a broom without falling.

Epel's broom hovers an inch above the other students. He noticed that the student in front of him, along with the demon-cat who sat in front of him on a broom, inched up their broom so they were the tallest. He saw the cat was grinning arrogantly, while the boy was warning him not to go too high. _Oh, are you challenging me?_ Never backing out, Epel quickly regained his lead. He discovered that it was the cat who flew it, not the boy. He grinned at him as they rose five inches higher. Epel leaned back, pulling above them an inch. The cat clenched its teeth and zoomed up almost 10 feet. Epel pulled back his broom which intended to surpass them.

The sound of a whistle was heard again and the two students looked down at their P.E. teacher. "Mister Felmier, Mister Argentum! Get down here this instant or you're both out of this class!" Epel stopped in the air and turned to go back down. When his feet touched the ground, he stared back at the boy and his cat. Their broom was still up.

"Mr. Argentum!" Vargas called out to the floating student again. Epel could see the boy talking to his cat, having a quite heated conversation actually, maybe arguing whether they should go down or not.

Focusing his eyes, Epel realized that their broom did not move in a smooth, controlled pattern as they float closer to the ground. They were jerking, bucking wildly. As he watched, strong winds came and ruffled his hair. But the gentle breeze on the ground was only a strong typhoon for them. Epel watched in horror as they lost their grip on the broom when it tipped over. The broom zoomed off when the boy and his cat fell to the earth below. The boy's instincts worked quickly, reaching for his cat and hugging him tightly to his chest, protecting him from upcoming doom.

He could vaguely hear someone shouting 'Captain!' Instinct took over. Epel ignored the screams of other students as he zoomed in at a speed he never knew was possible. While holding one hand on a broom, he reached out and caught the boy on his waist before he even fell three feet.

For a moment he was very happy with himself. But the sudden addition of seventy pounds made the broom unbalanced, causing it to fall and blow in the wind. Still, Epel managed to hold on, maintaining his grip on the boy as the strong wind blew a broom above the school. Amid falling chaos, Epel managed to tilt the broom, but he had lost all sense of directions. Not long after the three students crashed into the chestnut forest behind the school.

Epel slowed down the broom before landing, but it didn't seem enough. When they fell through the trees, the broom was split in two. As soon as it was cut off all the flying forces stopped, letting the children fall the rest of the way, crashing into almost every chestnut branch where they landed.

Epel slowly stood up, testing each limb. He will have several bruises and cuts from falling, but nothing will be damaged. Convinced that he's fine, Epel laughed softly. _Man, he loves flying!_

Glancing around, Epel found the boy was still lying a few feet in the woods, his cat was still on his chest, shaking his chest. He ran to them. Relief flooded him when he saw the boy's chest moving up and down slowly. He was still breathing.

"Jonah, come on!" the cat said worriedly. "Wake up!"

The boy, Jonah, soon stirred, opening his eye slowly. He looked between Epel and the cat before mumbling, "I'm... Blaming you, Grim."

The cat let out a sigh of relief. "Oh! You're alive! Great! I thought I have to find another chef to feed me."

The boy glared at the cat. "What? Not even a 'sorry'?"

The cat huffed. "What for? You're the one supposed to be sorry for flying that broom terribly."

"It was your magic that sent us away!"

"But you're the one steering it!"

"With your magic!"

Epel cleared his throat, stopping any potential glaring contest between the boy and his cat. "Oh!" the boy exclaimed. He was about to move when suddenly he let out a scream, his hand reached for his shoulder.

"Hey! What's wrong?" the cat asked again, this time in panic.

Jonah winched. "I think I broke my shoulder."

"Oh gosh. We need to get you to the infirmary," Epel said. He helped him up to his feet, slinging the unbroken arm around his shoulder. The cat flying behind them as they walked out of the forest.

"I can show us the way," the boy said. "I've been here before."

Epel gave him a sideways glance. "You did?"

Jonah nodded. "Picking chestnut for some tarts." He chuckled. "Man, it felt like a long time ago."

"You do baking?"

"Jonah is the best cook here!" the cat exclaimed. "He can cook anything! Last night, he made chebishie!"

Epel frowned at him, but Jonah chuckled. "He means ceviche."

"Oh..." Epel nodded. "Sounds delicious."

"I bet you eat many tasty foods in your dorm," said Jonah. When Epel glanced at him confusedly, he added. "You're Pomefiore, right? You probably do all those fancy stuff."

"Oh. Yeah." It was true. It was rare for Pomefiore students to go to dinner at the cafeteria because their dorm always has that big dinner together. While the foods are delicious, table manners are something that Epel will never get used to no matter how hard he tries.

"I'm surprised to see a Pomefiore picking P.E. elective like this," Jonah added.

"Me too actually," Epel said, rolling his eyes. "They probably worry that their make-up will be ruined."

"And you're not worried?"

Epel shook his head. "I can put it on again after the shower. Besides, I don't use that much make-up."

"I don't use makeup at all," Jonah added. "I don't think I can understand that beauty-stuff."

"Trust me, there are more than what I know," Epel groaned. "It's more than just powder and cologne. My Prefect sometimes holds on a mandatory beauty class for first years."

"That sounds hard."

"It's so annoying..." Epel sighed to which Jonah laughed.

"You know, you're kinda stood out now," he suddenly said.

Epel glanced at him confusedly. "Huh?"

Jonah tilted his head. "Being a Pomefiore who joins P.E. elective and doesn't like makeup. Kinda make you not like other boys."

Epel frowned. "Isn't that... Bad?"

"This coming from a non-magician boy who was summoned to a prestigious magic school." Jonah grinned. "And from what I experienced, it's not that bad."

Epel never thought about that. He always saw that putting him in Pomefiore was a mistake. He still wanted to join Savanaclaw because he thought it suits him. But maybe... Just like how the Dark Mirror brought a non-magician to NRC, maybe there was a reason why he was placed in Pomefiore?

"My name is Jonah Argentum, by the way," Jonah suddenly said again. "And that cat is Grim."

Epel blinked and gave him a nod. "Epel Felmier."

Jonah smiled at him. "A pleasure to meet you. And thanks for helping me."

This time, Epel smiled a little. "You're welcome."

Sure, Jonah ended up with a dislocated shoulder and some cuts and bruises, but they were easy to fix with a wave of the wand. _It looks like he has a new member on his crew._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry for not posting this yesterday. I hope I can make a double update since today's (yesterday's?) chapter is pretty short.  
> Originally I want to make Jonah be smart at flying, but then I was like: "No. Make him stupid." So, in the end, I let Epel shines.  
> The title of this chapter is from 'You Can Fly' from Peter Pan (1953)


	39. Heads Held High, Touch the Sky, Our Hearts We Pledge to Thee! (Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is no such thing as a ‘perfect meeting’, but there is something called an organized meeting. So some certain rules needed to be set. For example, like Germany once said: _Eight minutes each for speeches, no chit chat about side deals, and absolutely no going over the time limit. Now if you want to go, make sure you're prepared and raise your hand, but do so in a way that does not mock any salute of my country's past!_ "

"A prefect meeting?”

Riddle nodded before sipping on his cup of tea. “Yes. It will be held tomorrow at 4 pm after everyone’s class is over,” he said, putting down his cup to its saucer. “And since you’re technically the Prefect of the Ramshackle Dorm, you’re invited.”

“Are you sure though?” Jonah frowned. “Can’t I just don’t go?”

Riddle shook his head. “No. You can’t skip this. It’s your responsibility.”

Jonah pouted, playing with his strawberry on top of his shortcake. “I thought you’ve become more lenient, Senior Riddle.”

Riddle’s breath hitched. “I-I am!” His grip on his cup tightened. “It’s just-”

“Hey.” Jonah immediately grabbed Riddle’s trembling hand, making their eyes met. Jonah gave him a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not scared.” He saw Riddle took a deep breath before letting it out from his mouth. Riddle gave him a small nod but Jonah kept caressing his knuckles.

It was one Monday afternoon when all class finally over and Riddle and Jonah decided to have some tea together in the Heartslabyul Garden. Today, it was strawberry tea which Jonah made by himself. Along with some strawberry shortcakes made by Trey. This was probably the first time Jonah meeting Riddle again in private since their 'day off'. Sure, they passed each other between classes and lunch hour, but never just the two of them. Jonah was glad that Riddle was doing okay these two weeks. He didn’t want to ruin their progress.

“You’re right.” Jonah pulled his hand back, smiling at Riddle, making him blush a bit. “It’s my responsibility, right? What kind of captain am I if I don’t show a good example to my crew.” He rested his chin on his palm with his elbow on top of the table, frowning a bit. “But… What should I report?”

Riddle cleared his throat. “Well, usually you report your underclassmen progress and some changes that happen around the dorm.” Trying to distract himself by stirring his tea. “For tomorrow’s meeting, we have an additional agenda to discuss the upcoming Magishift Tournament.”

Jonah paused from putting a forkful of strawberry shortcake into his mouth, lowering it back to the plate. “What is that?”

Riddle looked up at him. “You haven’t heard about it?”

Jonah shook his head. “Amnesia, remember?” he said, tapping his temple.

“Oh. Right.” Riddle looked down again. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jonah said, smiling when Riddle raised his head again. “Maybe if you tell me about it, something will come up.”

Riddle sighed. “Alright.” He cleared his throat before started his explanation. “Magical Shift, or Magishift, is a world-famous magic sport played by two teams made up of seven players. To put it simply, you try to take a disc from each other and try to shoot it at the goal positioned in the opponent’s territory. The team who scores the most points is the winner.”

“Oh well, I don’t think I can join in though,” Jonah said, chuckling at the end.

Riddle smiled. “Maybe next year when your dorm has more students.” He cleared his throat again. “Anyways, Night Raven College is a world-renowned powerhouse when it comes to Magical Shift. A lot of our school’s alumni play in professional leagues. Even more, Magical Shift is a sport that tests not only physical skills but also one’s magical skills. Professional teams will be observing our school’s intra-dorm Magishift Tournament. A lot of renowned magicians around the world will come to watch. There will be a lot of shops lined up during the tournament as well, and they will be exhibiting products from all over the world.”

Jonah whistled. “This sounds like a very important event, huh?”

“You can call that,” Riddle said nodding. “Players who do exceptional and win in the tournament are invited to join professional teams, so it is a given that it comes with popularity, too.”

“Heh…” Jonah popped a strawberry into his mouth. “Do you want to join?”

Riddle shook his head. “No. This is one thing that my mother didn’t force me to do.”

Jonah watched Riddle kept stirring his tea, even though his glass was only half full now. “Have you talk to your mom?” he asked with a soft voice.

Riddle kept stirring. “No.”

“You know you can’t avoid it.”

“I know. I just…” He stopped stirring. I’m not ready yet.”

Jonah sighed. “Okay. Just remember that if you need a talk, you can just come to Trey or me.”

Riddle let out a small sigh. “I know.” He ended with a small smile.

* * *

“I just realized that I don’t have any Dorm Uniform,” Jonah said, playing the end on his jacket, as he and Riddle walked through the hallway toward the Mirror Chamber where they held their prefect meeting.

Riddle turned his head toward him. “You don’t?”

“I never thought about it. Maybe I should buy one before the tournament.”

“You can always use the Heartslabyul Uniform.”

“Then I'll be mistaken me as a Heartslabyul student.” Jonah shrugged. “Besides, I’ll try to make some variety.”

“Hmm. Make sense,” Riddle said, nodding. “You remember your report?”

“Sort of.” The eye-patch boy opened his bag and took out some papers with his chicken-scratch writing. “I just wrote Grim’s progress in class since he’s my only dorm and our current budget.”

Riddle tried not to cringe at the messy report. He gave him a small smile. “Good enough. This is your first time after all.”

Jonah chuckled. “Yeah-”

_*bump*_

Jonah stepped back immediately. “Oof. Sorry.”

“You seem to have a habit of disturbing my silence.”

Wait…

Jonah looked up and saw the same annoying, grouchy, lion-boy face who was glaring at him and Jonah just wanted to rip those twitching ear of that stupid mane-

“Kingscholar.” Riddle’s voice snapped him out of his mind.

The lion-boy gave the Heartslabyul Prefect. “Rosehearts.” He glanced back at the Ramshackle Prefect. “Herbivore.”

**Nope. Nope. Nopenopenopenopenope!**

“Jonah. Where are you going?”

Jonah felt his jacket being pulled by Riddle when he turned around and about to walked toward the hallways he just walked through. “Away. Far away.”

Riddle raised an eyebrow at him, surprise for the sudden attitude. “You can’t do that. The meeting is in five minutes.”

“Heh. Can’t handle being together in one room?” Kingscholar spoke up, which made Jonah stopped.

He turned his head toward him. “No. I’m just scared that I’ll break your tail this time.”

Kingscholar raised an eyebrow at him. The corner of his lips pulled up. “Oh. Acting tough, are we?”

Jonah rolled his eye. “Oh, please…” He said in a sarcastic tone. However, before he could say anymore remark, a familiar cheerful voice called out.

“Ahh~ Mister Argentum.” The headmaster appeared as if he just popped out of nowhere, and pat Jonah on the shoulder. “So happy for you to join us.”

Jonah gave him a confused smile. “The pleasure is mine… I guess.”

“Wonderful.” Crowley clapped his hand. He gestured for the boys (and noticed how Jonah and Kingscholar were throwing each other annoying glares) to enter the Mirror Chamber. “Come, come now.”

In the Mirror Chamber, Jonah noticed there were some students already there. He noticed Senior Azul and Idia’s tab. The other two were unfamiliar though.

One was a tall, handsome man with shoulder-length blonde hair and violet eyes. He had that beauty-queen aura around him. Oh, maybe he’s the Pomefiore Prefect that Epel was talking about. The one who tutored him privately on how to wear mascara.

The other one was a dark-skinned boy with a white turban tied around short and choppy white hair, and red eyes. Oh, Jonah knew he remembers him somewhere. He was the one whose butt got burn during Grim’s rampage at the Entrance Ceremony. He wondered whether it left a mark or not…

“Alright, alright, everyone, take a seat,” Crowley said and Jonah immediately took a seat next to Azul, who gave him a charming smile. Riddle sat next to him while Kingscholar sat across him.

Azul suddenly leaned toward him. “Mister Argentum,” he whispered. “I’m hoping we can talk about your payment next Sunday. Can you do that?”

Jonah frowned. He was to asked back when suddenly it clicked in his mind. _That’s right._ He hadn’t say thank you to Azul for cleaning his dorm. _Damn, he almost forgets about that._

“Of course, Mister Ashengrotto,” he whispered back. Azul gave him a small smile before both of them focusing on Crowley.

“Alright, everyone is here,” Crowley started. “Welcome to the prefect meeting. First of all, I would like to say welcome to Mister Argentum, our non-official Ramshackle Dorm Prefect. Thank you for joining us.”

Jonah gave everyone around the room a small wave before Crowley continues. “Alright. Without further ado, we shall start our meeting. First agenda…”

* * *

The meeting went surprisingly well with everyone gave their dorm reports and discussion. Jonah gave himself a pat on the back for holding himself back from punching that lion-boy in the face when he laughed at his messy report. 

"Now. Our next agenda will be about choosing the next manager of the Magishift Tournament." Crowley said. He then looked at Jonah. "Ah. Mister Argentum. You do know what a magishift is, right?"

"Yes, headmaster." Jonah nodded at him. "Senior Riddle told me about it."

Crowley smiled at him. "Wonderful. Now, since this is your first time, you can sit this one out." Jonah let out a sigh of relief, happy to be excluded. "Alright. Everyone. Say your managing plan. From Mister Kingscholar."

One by one, everyone gave their idea. Well, Senior Kingscholar and Idia were a bit reluctant with their plan, and Senior Kasim (from Scarabia) suggested a parade. Senior Schoenheit (from Pomefiore) was quite good, he also suggested to sell sunscreen and umbrella rent. Azul and Riddle probably had the most detailed plan between all of them, complete with timetable, but Azul gained an additional point to include a very realistic budget and club involvement.

"Alright. I've heard from everyone," Crowley said, clapping his hand. "Anybody here wants to give their opinion?"

Nobody wanted to answer that, all of them sticking to their plan or just too lazy to comment. Crowley cleared his throat again. "Alright then. How about you, Mister Argentum?"

"Eh?" All eyes aimed toward Jonah. "Well, I..." He took a deep breath and let it out from his mouth. "From what I've heard, I think Senior Azul has the best idea." He could see Azul's glasses gleamed in the corner of his vision. "His plan is tidy and the budget is reasonable."

"I agree too!" Asim raised his hand. "With all the club participating, it can be so much fun before and after the tournament."

"Indeed." Schoenheit nodded his head. "May I suggest that the dorm can have a stand too? I can probably sell some beauty products there."

Azul smiled like a businessman he is. "Of course."

Riddle nodded in agreement. "A quite good compromise." He raised his hand. "I agree with them."

Crowley smiled at all of them. "Alright. It seemed like the majority of you agree that Mister Ashengrotto will be out manager this year. Any objection?" Nobody raised their hand, some of them shook their head. Crowley clapped his hand, satisfied. "Then, it has been decided. Azul Ashengrotto, you are out Magishift Tournament manager."

Azul raised from his seat and bowed to the clapping prefects. "Thank you very much. I guarantee that I won't disappoint you."

As soon as the clapping dimmed down, Crowley spoke up again. "Thank you for all of seven of you-"

Something clicked in Jonah's head. _Seven?_

_That should be right... right?_

He started to look around, noting each prefect in the room. Heartslabyul, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Savanaclaw, Ignihyde, Octavinelle...

Wait a second...

Jonah raised his hand again, gaining everyone's attention. "Um, excuse me."

"Yes. Mister Argentum?" Crowley asked.

"Umm... I'm just wondering... Why isn't the Diasomnia Prefect here?"

_..._

_..._

"DID WE FORGOT TO INVITE HIM AGAIN?!" Asim was the first one to react, shouting at the top of his lung.

Schoenheit sighed, rubbing his temple. "Finally someone noticed..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I will do a double update yesterday, but I lied again. Turn out, this is the hardest chapter to write here. This and the last chapter was the last chapter to be drafted and this chapter, in particular, I was conflicted to whether delete in or not. In the end, I rescued this crappy chapter.  
> And since many of you want to see what happen after Jonah broke his bone in the last chapter, I’ll be considering to make an interlude in the Gaiden. No promises though.
> 
> The title is from ‘R-E-S-C-U-E, Rescue Aid Society’ from The Rescuers (1977). See? Even I can’t find any song related to a student council meeting.
> 
> Tomorrow is the finale, but I’ll be working on the next chapter and the first chapter of Leona’s arc today.


	40. We Got a Hot Crustacean Band! (Jonah Argentum's Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Some people would quote something that John Mulaney said: _I am very small and I have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress that I am under_. It was true. Living far away from home has its disadvantages, like the need to think about what to eat unlike how you can eat so freely at home. So, how do students get the money to feed themself? Simple (well, not that simple). How about we find a side job?”
> 
> (Finale of ‘Jonah Argentum’s Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide’)

_*knock* *knock*_

"Grim, can you open that up?"

Grim raised his head to look at the door. The knocking was still ongoing. But he didn’t make a move to get up, only to lay back down on the couch. "No... I'm too busy…" he groaned.

"You better open that up or no extra fish for you."

_Oh. That can’t happen._

With a groan, Grim got up from the couch and flew toward the door lazily. The knocking suddenly sounded more obnoxious than before. When Grim opened the door, he saw a pair of teens with teal hair with black strands and different color eyes standing there. Both of them wore a black fedora with a grey bow around it and a purple seashell on the bow. Their outfit consisted of a purple dress shirt with a white bow, a black double-breasted suit, a cool-toned grey scarf with the Octavinelle logo on it, and white gloves. They also wore purple socks and a pair of black slacks accompanied by a pair of black and white dress shoes. "Uh..."

One of them, the one with the strand on the right side, waved at the cat with a goofy smile on his face. "Hello, little piranha~"

Grim blinked. _Who are they again?_ "What?" And then he registered the last part. "Who are you calling piranha?!"

"You are! You're small and have sharp teeth. Like a piranha." the boy laughed, pinching Grim’s cheeks. He quickly pulled back his hand when Grim was about to bite him. “Oo~ Fiesty too~”

"Forgive us if we're intruding,” said the other one with the left strand. “But is Mister Argentum here?"

Before Grim could shoo them away, Jonah's voice called out again. “Grim! Who is it?”

The boy with the right strand, poked his head passed the door and sniffed the air. "Hmm~ Smells so good~" He walked pass Grim, following the smell like a dog. "Wha- Hey!"

"Excuse us," the boy with left strand said as he also walked pass Grim into the dorm.

"You- You can't just go in like this!" Grim shouted following the two boys until they reached the kitchen Jonah was there, frying something on the stove. He wasn’t wearing his usual ponytail and eye-patch, but his eye was covered by his bangs. He was still wearing his pajamas. There was some flour on his cheek, probably from the mess of a counter.

"Baby seal~" greeted the right-strand boy, walking toward Jonah and gave him a one-sided hug. "What's cooking?"

"Senior Leech!" The boy should be lucky that Jonah didn’t smack him with his hot spatula. He looked behind him and saw the other twin who smiled at him. "What are you two doing here?"

"Oh, we're here to pick you up,” he said. “Didn't you have a promise with Azul?"

Jonah blinked several times before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Sorry! I wasn't expecting him to be able this early in the morning."

The boy just smiled at him, accepting the apology. Meanwhile, the other boy who was hugging Jonah sniffed the air once again. "Ooo~ Let me guess! Fish and chips?"

Jonah let out a chuckled. "Yes."

"Yay!" the boy cheered. "Can we try it?"

Grim of course was not having this. "Oi!” he yelled, landing on the counter, hissing at the boy. “This is our breakfast! Get your own."

"Grim, it's fine,” Jonah said as he turned off the stove. He used his spatula to take out the golden coated fish and strain the extra oil. “We have plenty."

The boy smiled again as he sat on the barstool, followed by the twin. Grim huffed and sat on the closest with Jonah. The redhead place the plate filled with fish and another one with homemade french fries. "Help yourself."

The right-strand boy cheered as he picked up an empty plate and quickly stacked his plate, fighting against Grim who just doesn’t want to share. The left-strand boy and Jonah waited until the fighting stopped before taking their portion.

"Thanks for the food~" the right-strand sheered before stabbing his fish, taking a big bite from it. His eyes widened as a smile grew on his face. "Hmm~” he hummed with a mouthful of fish. “So crunchy and moist in the inside~"

The left-strand boy nodded. "Yes. And the chips are perfectly cooked." He picked some french fries with his fork and ate it. He hummed and nodded again before turning his head toward Jonah. "You are quite talented."

Jonah smiled. "Thank you."

"Where did you learn this?" the left-strand boy asked.

Jonah just shrugged, popping his french fries into his mouth. "Muscle memories, I guess," he said. "Oh yeah. We can go after breakfast."

Grim stopped licking his plate, eyeing at Jonah suspiciously. "Where are you going? It's Sunday."

"I'm just going to meet Azul,” Jonah answered. "You know, about cleaning the dorm."

"What about lunch?"

"We have leftover. You can just grill it with your fire or something.”

“And dinner?”

“Just buy something at the cafeteria or something."

Grim perked up at this, smiling widely and ears up. "Alright!” He picked up more fish and chips for himself.

"Quite sneaky, don't you think?" the left-strand boy whispered to Jonah. "Bribing him like that?"

"It's the only way he will let me out," Jonah whispered back, rolling his eyes and smiling a bit. "And technically speaking, that's the headmaster's money."

The right-strand boy snickered. "Naughty boy~"

* * *

"Well, here we are,” Jade announced as the three students stood in front of a mirror with octopus tentacles on it. It was different from the card-decorated mirror of Heartslabyul. Maybe it was different for every dorm.

Jade's twin, Floyd, immediately grabbed both of Jonah’s hands as he walked backward toward the mirror. "Hold on tight now."

Jonah frowned. "Why?"

Floyd smiled widely. "Here we go!" He jumped backward through the mirror, pulling Jonah with him.

"Whoa-"

Passing the mirror felt like jumping into the pool. When Jonah opened his eye, he let out a gasp. He was… _Is this underwater_? He could see the beautiful corals and seaweeds at the bottom of this pool of water. Jonah immediately held his breath puffing his cheek, but he probably already inhaled so much water into his lung. _Is he going to die?_

"Don't worry." He felt Jade put his hands on his shoulders. "This is breathable water."

Jonah blinked and blew air from his mouth, bubble floating from his mouth. Jonah took a deep breath again. _Oh. It is breathable._ Floyd grinned, still holding on Jonah’s hand as they slowly floated down toward the dorm that has a seashell theme. "Welcome to Octavinelle~"

Jonah still felt weird when they landed on the purple platform as the wide porch. They walked (it felt normal as if they were just walking on land) on toward the dorm. When they passed the door, Jonah felt his clothes had dried up. Was that also magic? He couldn’t stop looking around as they walked through the glass tunnel. _This is so cool…_

"This way,” Jade said as he guided him around the corner though the arc. They arrived at a room filled with tables and chatting students from various dorms. The smell around him was delicious and the jazzy music just lifted the mood.

"Is this a cafe?" Jonah asked.

"You can say that," Jade answered. "Welcome to Mostro Lounge." He put a hand on Jonah's shoulder again and guided him again. "Come now. Azul is waiting."

It wasn’t long before they arrived in front of a door. Jade opened and Jonah walked into the small office, the Leech boy closing the door behind. Bookshelves filled with various books lined up on the wall. There was a desk there along with the office chair in front of a big safe-like door. There was a coffee table in the middle of the room, between two couches that were facing each other. And on one of the couches sat Azul Ashengrotto.

He was wearing a black fedora with a grey bow around it and a purple seashell on the bow. His outfit consisted of a white dress shirt, a grey coat over an unbuttoned black double-breasted suit, a cool-toned grey scarf, and white gloves. He also wore purple socks and a pair of black slacks accompanied by black dress shoes. His scarf had the Octavinelle logo on it and there was a black cane he was holding has a silver handle resembling an octopus leaning next to his legs.

"Ah~ Mister Argentum,” he greeted with a smile on his face as he put down his cane. “It's good to be finally meeting you again."

Jonah took a deep breath before letting it out through his mouth. He gave Azul a small smile "It has only been a week, Senior Azul," he said, walking toward him. "But, I'm glad we can finally discuss this."

Azul nodded, gesturing the other boy to sit down across him. "So am I. How about we just go straight into business, shall we?"

Jonah nodded. “Of course.”

Azul picked up the documents on his lap and rereading it as he spoke, "As you see, the Ramshackle Dorm was... horrendous. And I have to admit, it was a tough job to fix everything. And, to be put it bluntly, Mister Argentum, it wasn't cheap."

Jonah winched. "I understand, but... How much did you spend?"

Azul frowned at the paper. "Well... The precise number is... 10.766 madols."

Jonah's eye widened. He knew it wasn’t cheap. But he didn’t expect to be that expensive. Azul gave the documents to Jonah and the eye-patch boy just want to cry at the various number on it. He literary fixed everything. From the damaged walls, windows, ceilings, even the toilets. "Sweet Nebula..."

"You can't pay for that, can you?" Azul asked and Jonah responded by shaking his head. There was no way he could pay for everything. And he was sure the principal doesn’t want to give him money even if he begs from it ( _well, there’s no way Jonah will beg for anything_ ). He barely survived with the last reaming food in the fridge and sooner or later he needs to restock. And how was he supposed to do that…?

"Which is why I came up with a compromise."

Jonah looked up at him. “Huh?”

Azul just smiled as he picked up his cane. The tapped the table with the handle of the cane and suddenly a violet magic circle appeared. With a flash of light, a golden paper appeared on the table. "A contract?" asked Jonah.

Azul nodded, watching the boy across him who picked up the contract and read it. "You'll be working in Mostro Lounge until you can pay all of the debt, or until you graduate. If both of us graduate before you can pay all your debt, I will still be collecting them. I will still give you your salary, but I'll only pay you half of my regular employee."

Jonah lowered the contract from his face, looking at Azul worriedly. "This will take a lifetime."

The prefect just shrugged. "It could, but if you do a fantastic job, I'll consider giving you a raise. Also, when you're working for me, you cannot defy any of my orders or protest. I want your complete loyalty. You may be a captain, but I'm the boss here and you're my employee. If you broke the contract, I will fire you and take the Ramshackle Dorm as my payment. Sounds fair?"

Jonah frowned at this. "Why did you do this is the first place?"

To that, Azul smiled. He pushed his glasses up his nose as it glint under the light. "Curiosity, Captain Argentum."

“What?”

"Nothing more than to see you react. Will you take everything for granted? Will you want to pay back? Or just pay it forward to another person." The tapped the staff to the ground and suddenly it changed into a white feather. Azul was still smiling as he offered the feather to Jonah. "What shall it be, Captain?"

Jonah looked back at the contract. _The deal does sound fair. Well, he’s basically paying his debt by working for him. Not only that the extra money he can use it to feed his and Grim always hungry stomach. Maybe even buy new school supplies and other necessities._ He could survive with this.

"Alright."

Jonah took the feather from Azul's hand and wrote his name on the signature line. At the last stroke, a magic circle appeared once again behind his name. With one last bright light, the contract was sealed. The scroll rolled itself up and flew toward Azul’s hand.

" ** _[It's A Deal]_** , Mister Argentum," Azul said with a smile. "Your first job starts today."

Jonah blinked at this. "A-Already?"

"Yes. Today is the first Sunday of the month after all. It's a special day and your job...” Azul stood up from his seat and walked toward the door, opening it. “…is to be our head chef."

"Wait-” Jonah stood up from his seat and followed Azul out of the office. “How do you know that I can cook?"

"You made those funnel cakes for the last Board Game Club meeting, did you not?"

“Yeah, but-”

"Anyone who can make Idia inhaled their snack is a great cook." They arrived at a door with a circular window on it. "Jade will help you as you sous chef. Good luck!"

“Wha-“

Without waiting for any answer, Jonah was pushed into through the door, nearly tripping his own feet. When he looked up, all the workers there turned toward him. “Um… Hi…?” Jonah greeted with a sheepish smile and an awkward wave of his hand. “I…I’ll be working with you today.”

Some confused looks were aimed toward him but Jade was smiling at him. "Welcome to the kitchen, Chef Argentum," he greeted, carrying an apron and a chef hat with him. "What do you think we should start first?"

Jonah frowned. Oh wow, Azul was serious when he said he was the head chef of the day. He raked his brain, trying to find a quick solution. "Wait. Tell me more about this special day."

Jade nodded. "Of course. The event is called 'Sunday Supreme', which happens every first Sunday of the month. After sunset, Mostro Lounge will close for the public, except for the 100 invited people to see a special performance from one of our staff."

"Tonight it's my turn~!" Everyone turned toward the door that was opened by Floyd. "And I don't want any shiitake mushroom on my plate."

Jonah frowned. "Why? They made the food taste better."

Jade was smiling at this. "You hear that Floyd?" he said, his tone sounded like he was mocking Floyd. "He agrees."

Floyd pouted at this. "It's my night and I demand no shiitake mushroom!" he shouted, before changing to his cheerful mood again. "Oh! And I also want octopus-theme food."

"B-But, I never cook an octopus before-" Jonah tried to reason but Floyd already walked away while cheering, "Then, this is your lucky day~!"

Jonah groaned, massaging his temple. "Sweet Nebula..."

Jade just chuckled at this. "So what is your first plan?"

Jonah returned to his thinking process. "Hmm... Any of you have some paper?"

One of the workers there immediately took a book and a pen from the top cabinet and gave it to Jonah. “Thank you,” he said. He opened to an empty page and clicked on the pen. "Alright. I think we should decide what we should make. I'm thinking of appetizer, main course, and dessert. And don't forget the drink." He wrote down the four things on the page. “Any suggestion?”

"We can't put an octopus in a dessert.”

Jonah nodded at that. "You're right. Maybe we can the octopus can be a form of decorations."

One of the workers perked up. "Oh! We have that sea creatures jelly, right?"

"Yeah. Oh! How about some octopus-shaped fruit?" suggested another one.

Jonah nodded and started to write it down. "Yes. Yes."

"If we follow the sea theme," Jade added. "How about a sea salt ice cream?"

Jonah turned to his senior. "You can make those?"

Jade nodded. "Yes. It's quite popular too."

"Okay. Perfect." Jonah wrote that down too. "Sea salt ice cream for dessert. And make sure it's super moist."

The chattering between the workers increased and Jonah was happy they were able to work together despite being the first time working with him.

"Um..."

Jonah turned toward the shortest between them "Yes?"

"Can... Can we make... I don't know..."

Jonah smiled softly at him. "Don't worry. I'm listening." The boy nodded and continued.

"Well... I once found a recipe online on how to make squid ink spaghetti. Maybe... We can change the squid ink into octopus ink?"

Jonah blinked. Slowly smile widely. "That's... That's actually a good idea."

"It is?"

The eye-patch boy was grinning. "Yeah. Can you make them?"

"I've made pasta from scratch once."

"Perfect." Jonah clapped his hand and wrote that down. "I'll be counting on you, okay?"

The short boy was smiling so wide. "Yes! I'll do my best!"

One of the workers gave him a one-sided hug as he chimed in. "We can add a grilled octopus on top!"

"Yeah! And some tomato sauce!" another one added.

"Okay!" Jonah pointed at the group that was talking earlier. "You guys will be making the main course." They all nodded, smiling, and grinning confidently. He looked down at the book again. "All that left is the appetizer. I'm thinking of a light snack."

"How about some turnovers?"

Jonah looked up at the speaking worker. "Isn't that a dessert?"

"Not if we fill it with octopus. Oh! And I know how to make this great spicy creole mayonnaise!"

"Sounds delicious." Jonah smiled and wrote that down too. "Okay! We'll be making those too."

"And how about some lemonade for the drink?" Another one suggested. "We can use blackberry and mint to get a close black color."

"Alright." Jonah wrote that down and closed the book. "Great! We have our menu!" All of them cheered. Jade tapped Jonah's shoulder and gave him the apron and chef head. Jonah smiled at him and put on the apron, tying it behind his back. "We have a big night tonight! This is your captain-” He paused. _Wait. That can’t be right._ He cleared his throat. “I mean... This is your head chef order!” He put on his chef hat and quietly taking off his eye-patch. None of them could see it for it was covered by his bangs, but it still gave Jonah the confidence he needed. He clapped his hand, signaling to start their jobs.

“Let's get cooking!"

* * *

Azul watched through the window at the lively kitchen. This was the usual scene. They were always busy. But never had he seen so much energy in there.

"Don't let that pasta become too soggy, boys!"

"Make sure that pastry is not undercooked!"

"Pay attention to those cutting skills!"

"A bit more sugar in that lemonade!"

"Where is the tomato sauce?!"

Azul chuckled as he pushed the door. He saw so many plates with the food already placed and decorated wonderfully. Everything looked so mouthwatering: crispy pastry, sparkling lemonade, ice cream with exotic green color, and perfectly cooked pasta.

"Chef," Azul called, making Jonah stopped his track, quickly turning around toward him.

"Senior Azul!" he squeaked and Azul noticed he immediately covered his eye. Oh? Did he take off his eye-patch? Azul decided not to ask that but instead said, "We'll be closing in five minutes."

Jonah's eyes widened. "Already?!" he nearly screamed, quickly turning around toward the workers on the platting team. "Is the plating done yet?"

"N-Not yet! We're still preparing the spaghetti!"

"Focus on the appetizer first! The platting team, do it!” He turned his head toward the other team. “Serving team, you better fix those ties of yours!"

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

Azul just chuckled again. “We’ll be waiting, chef.”

* * *

It was a miracle that Jonah was able to put out the food on time. From the drinks, appetizers until desserts, all was served on time without missing a single person in great coordination.

Azul walked up to one of the tables, smiling at his guests. "How was the food, gentlemen?"

"It was so good. Compliments to the chef."

"I like the octopus theme. You should make another themed-dinner like this."

Azul chuckled. "Will be noted." He then walked toward the kitchen again. From the window, he could see that it wasn’t as busy as the first time he visited. He pushed the door and called out, "Chef."

Johan looked, having finished putting on is eye-patch again. "Senior Azul?"

Azul gestured the boy to come out. "Come here for a moment."

Jonah blinked. He turned toward Jade who gave him a reassuring smile as if saying that they got this. Jonah nodded before turning back to Azul and walked with him out of the kitchen. He led him toward an empty table at the front of the stage where they usually perform, reserved only of Azul himself. Gently, he pushed Jonah to sit in the armchair. “Wait here.”

Azul then walked up toward the stage, standing behind the mic. He tapped twice, gaining everyone's attention there. "Gentlemen," he said, tipping his fedora as a greeting. "Welcome to our annual Sunday Supreme.” Everyone clapped at this and Azul continued. “I hope all of you are enjoying the food." There were collective murmurs of agreement and Azul noticed Jonah looked around, smiling a little when he heard compliments. Azul continued, "Now, without further ado... Our main event. Presenting... Floyd Leech."

The cheered was louder again as Azul stepped down the stage, sitting on the other armchair of the table.

Jonah looked at him confusedly. "What should I-"

Azul just smiled at him. "Don't worry. Just wait here."

Cheerful music suddenly sounded from the band on stage as Floyd, in a bright red version of Octavinelle Dorm Uniform and an ear-mic ran up the stage. "Good night, little fishes~" he shouted, waving his hand excitedly, which the crowd responded with a round of applause. "So good to see little fishes swimming by down here. Well, as you know, playing under the sea is way better than anything up there~"

**_The seaweed is always greener_ **

**_In somebody else's lake_ **

**_You dream about going up there_ **

**_But that is a big mistake_ **

**_Just look at the world around you_ **

**_Right here on the ocean floor_ **

**_Such wonderful things surround you_ **

**_What more is you lookin' for?_ **

Some of the workers suddenly came up around the stage as Floyd jumped down, dancing with them.

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Darling it's better_ **

**_Down where it's wetter_ **

**_Take it from me_ **

**_Up on the shore they work all day_ **

**_Out in the sun they slave away_ **

**_While we devotin'_ **

**_Full time to floatin'_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

The dancer scattered toward various spots in the room. Floyd continued to dance in front of the stage and kept on singing.

**_Down here all the fish is happy_ **

**_As off through the waves they roll_ **

**_The fish on the land ain't happy_ **

**_They sad 'cause they in their bowl_ **

Azul noticed that Floyd was walking closer toward Jonah, in which made the younger boy looked uncomfortable, and Azul chuckled at this.

**_But fish in the bowl is lucky_ **

**_They in for a worser fate_ **

**_One day when the boss get hungry_ **

**_Guess who's gon' be on the plate?_ **

Floyd stepped back and spun around before continuing his musical number.

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Nobody beat us_ **

**_Fry us and eat us_ **

**_In fricassee_ **

And suddenly, Floyd quickly walked toward Jonah again and pulled the boy up, bringing him with him on toward the stage. He quickly took the mic that Azul was using earlier and shoved it to Jonah’s hand. Jonah stared at him confusedly but Floyd just kept on singing.

**_We what the land folks loves to cook_ **

**_Under the sea we off the hook_ **

**_We got no troubles_ **

**_Life is the bubbles_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

Jonah looked at the mic, then to the crowd. Azul had to stop himself from laughing at the awkward boy. Not wanting to embarrass himself, Jonah sang to the mic. His singing voice was not that good, especially compared to Floyd’s. “ ** _Under the sea?_** ”

Floyd grinned. “ ** _Under the sea~_** ”

“ ** _Under the sea?_** ” Jonah sang again. Then, Floyd continued.

**_Since life is sweet here_ **

**_We got the beat here_ **

**_Naturally_ **

“ ** _Naturally-ly-ly!_** ”Jonah sang again, this time sounded more confident. And Floyd continued, taking Jonah’s hand for a dance.

**_Even the sturgeon an' the ray_ **

**_They get the urge 'n' start to play_ **

**_We got the spirit_ **

**_You got to hear it_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

Floyd let go of Jonah hands and started to dance. Because there wasn’t any gesture for him to sit down, Jonah just followed Floyd dance awkwardly. Floyd just laughed and continued his musical number.

**_The newt play the flute_ **

**_The carp play the harp_ **

**_The plaice play the bass_ **

**_And they soundin' sharp_ **

**_The bass play the brass_ **

**_The chub play the tub_ **

**_The fluke is the duke of soul_ **

Floyd pumped his fist and Jonah followed while cheering, “ ** _Yeah!_** ” The song continued with Floyd singing.

**_The ray he can play_ **

**_The lings on the strings_ **

**_The trout rockin' out_ **

**_The blackfish she sings_ **

**_The smelt and the sprat_ **

**_They know where it's at_ **

**_An' oh that blowfish blow_ **

“Take it away, baby seal!” Floyd cheered. Too much in the mood, Jonah just kept on dancing, making his own moves. “Let’s go!” Floyd cheered as he followed Jonah’s dancing. “Yahoo~” He pulled Jonah down the stage, holding his hand and kept on dancing together. They kept singing back-to-back.

“ ** _Yeah, under the sea~_** ”

“ ** _Under the sea!_** ”

“ ** _Under the sea~_** ”

“ ** _Under the sea!_** ”

“ ** _When the sardine~ Begin the beguine~ It's music to me~_** ”

“ ** _It's music to me-me-me!_** ”

They began to sing together, dancing side by side. “ ** _What do they got? A lot of sand! We got a hot crustacean band!_** ” Floyd continued as the solo singer.

**_Each little clam here_ **

**_Know how to jam here_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Each little slug here_ **

**_Cuttin' a rug here_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

**_Each little snail here_ **

**_Know how to wail here_ **

**_That's why it's hotter_ **

**_Under the water_ **

**_Ya we in luck here_ **

**_Down in the muck here_ **

**_Under the sea_ **

At the last music, Jonah and Floyd dancing again, ending their musical number with Floyd dipped Jonah. The crowd, even Azul, gave them a standing ovation. Cheers erupted the whole room. Floyd helped Jonah to stand up straight again. Together, they gave a bow to their audience. 

It was another successful night.

* * *

It was already passed to midnight as the last worker decided to leaf, leaving Azul alone at the bar. A glass of the blackberry mint lemonade suddenly was placed in front of him. He looked up and saw Jonah was smiling at him. "We still have some leftover lemonade, Senior Azul,” he said, before sitting on the barstool next to him.

Azul smiled back to him. "Yes. Thank you." He took a sip before asking him, "How was your first day of work?"

"It was tiring actually," the boy answered with a tired sigh, but he was smiling. "But an interesting experience."

Azul chuckled, raising his glass. "I'll be expecting more from you, Mister Argentum."

"Of course," Jonah said, raising his own glass. "I won't disappoint you, Mister Ashengrotto."

They clicked their glass. A toast for a successful night and their future as partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m actually pretty happy with this finally. I mean, what better way to end an arc with a musical? This turns out longer than I thought, probably the longest chapter I've ever written here.  
> The title is, of course, from ‘Under the Sea’ from The Little Mermaid (1989).
> 
> Anyway, a few announcements. Unfortunately, I have to delay the premiere of The Rebel of the Wilderness. This week I have my finals and I’ll be concentrating on studying, but I’ll probably still be popping up in Tumblr just to post random memes or something. Not only that. I haven’t written any chapter for Leona’s arc, probably this weekend. I still the draft of the final battle and thing doesn’t look so pretty there…
> 
> I will end this arc with writing a long ‘Behind the Fic: TW:OPT’ on my Tumblr of my thought and feeling about this filler arc, probably my favorite and least favorite of the chapters, and maybe answering some questions from you guys.  
> See you next Monday!


	41. Prefects' Gathering! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about we start all of these with another boring meeting?

It was already closing time for Mostro Lounge. Nearly everyone has gone back to their room, including Jade and Floyd. The lounge was practically empty by now, which was great for Azul because he could have all this space for himself.

He sat in one of the sofas, paper spread across the table, and a word document on the screen of his laptop in front of him. Azul occasionally would find a document before typing it, adding another paragraph for the report. He didn't even realize that he wasn't actually alone until he heard a cup was placed on his table. The smell of coffee hit him immediately.

"Working hard again, Boss?" Azul looked up, slightly surprised to see Jonah, in his Octavinelle uniform (which was given from him the day after Floyd's performance because it was lounge rules), still carrying a tray and smiling at him.

Azul smiled and picked up the cup. "Yes. Just finishing the last report for tomorrow's prefect meeting."

Jonah perked up at this. "Oh, the royal families accept their invitations?" he asked, picking one of the documents, reading the response letter from the Coral Sea Royal Family.

"Yes, their letter just came a few days ago. Now, all I have to do is arrange their seat." Azul took a sip of the coffee. His eyebrow raised. "A new recipe?"

Jonah chuckled. "Just some flat white coffee. I tried to make it instead of the instant one."

Azul took another sip. "It's delicious. I'm keeping it on the menu."

Jonah laughed. "Whatever you say, Boss." He put back the document n the table and continued, "Well. I'm heading back now."

"Don't forget the leftover," Azul said.

Jonah nodded. "I've packed it. Grim will be really happy we're having salmon for breakfast."

Azul chuckled at this. "Well, then." He tipped his hat to Jonah. "Good job today, Mister Argentum."

Jonah tipped his hat back. "Thank you, Mister Ashengrotto. And don't stay up too late."

With that, Jonah left for the kitchen. He probably went through the other door since Azul didn't see him return to the main lounge. Sipping the white coffee again, Azul continued his report until dawn.

* * *

All the prefects of each dorm once again gathered in the Mirror Chamber. Azul was sitting next to Idia (in his floating tablet) who is chatting with Jonah about some new cheat code he had discovered. Taking a glance, Azul was pretty sure Jonah didn't understand anything. The poor boy didn't even have a smartphone, let alone a laptop. He remembered that time he saw Jonah stayed overnight at Mostro Lounge just to write his ten pages on report for Mister Crewel's class by hand. That was a torture to see.

Riddle sat next to Jonah, also listening for Idia. He also clearly didn't understand, but he could see the way his lips curled up and how his cheeks turned into a light pink color whenever Jonah turned to talk to him. It was interesting watching them. Riddle, Jonah, and Idia. An interesting combination indeed.

They heard the headmaster stepped forward, clearing his throat to gain their attention. "Now then, I would like to begin the Prefects’ Meeting concerning the Magical Shift Tournament that will take place in only two weeks from now. Firstly, Prefect Ashengrotto of Octavinelle has an announcement as the President of the Magical Shift Management Committee."

"Yes," Azul said as he stood up, notes prepared in his hands. He walked up toward the front and began his part. "I am Azul Ashengrotto of the Management Committee. A pleasure to be here with you all today." He could see Jonah rolling his eye and a quiet snicker from Idia. They had seen Azul dramatic side many times during Board Game Club that this had become a usual sight for them. Azul lips curled up, but that didn't stop him from continuing his report. "Now then, I would like to talk about the pop-up stalls that will be positioned around the Coliseum. All slots for outside business and club businesses have been filled."

"Oh, that’s nice! Looks like it’s gonna be bustling!" Kalim commented, looking excited already.

"All the invitations for each nation’s royal families have also been sent. The ticket-selling for the masses is proceeding smoothly as well," Azul continued. "And just like every year, the television crews that will be helping with the broadcast have all been arranged as well."

"The whole world will be watching, after all~" Kalim once again added. "Before I became a student here, I was always excited about receiving the invitation to the tournament~ Ah!" He looked across him toward the lion who was about to fall asleep in a few seconds. "You’re a royal too so you got invitations, right, Leona? We’ve passed by each other in the stadium a lot when we were kids, remember?"

Leona rolled his eyes and yawned. "Dunno... And don’t much care." Kalim pouted at the response.

"I have to perfect the ultra-vision supported base make-up for this year’s tournament," Vil commented, brushing some hair to behind his ear. "It is a very physical sport, so I need to fix my make-up a lot."

Riddle only sighed, not amused. "Only Pomefiore will go as far as to ask for a time-out just to fix their make-up."

"Why’s everyone so gung-ho about showing their faces for a competition?" Idia commented. "Just thinking about it’s enough to make me puke..."

"You're pretty competitive during last week Norio Wheel, Senior Idia," Jonah said, hiding his smile behind his hand.

"... That's different."

Azul cleared his throat, obviously not impressed that the other wasn't paying attention anymore. "Ahem! Everyone, please keep quiet."

Everyone slowly closed their mouth. Well, nearly everyone. Kalim just had to make one last comment with a joking tone. "Ah, sorry ‘bout that~"

Azul sighed, though he was glad he could take control again. "Each dorm should submit a file of all their registered players for the tournament. If you happen to be even one day late with the registration..."

"You are, of course, disqualified, correct?" Riddle said, but Azul pushed his glasses up his nose, smirking.

"Oh, no. They will be subject to a separate charging fee. I guess you could call it a special fare for being late?"

Riddle was taken back, nearly choking back his own spit. "What–?" He cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. "Personally, I think that creating rules to exempt someone is not a good idea."

Kalim laughed. "I’d be grateful for it though!"

Crowley sighed and stood up from his seat, walking up to Azul. "You may sit down, Prefect Ashengrotto." Azul nodded and went back to his seat. Jonah gave him a light kick on his shoes. Azul glanced at him and the eye-patch boy gave him a small smile. Azul just chuckled at that.

"Now then, let’s talk about the competition details..." Crowley started. "I have a proposal." There were some confused noises from several prefects. "For this tournament... I was thinking of having Diasomnia’s Prefect, Malleus Draconia, become a member of the Hall of Fame so as he should only make a special appearance."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped.

"What do you mean?" Leona was the first one to respond. Jonah could've sworn he was growling.

Crowley acted like the tension never happened. "Ever since Draconia entered the school, all the dorms that have competed against Diasomnia have faced utter defeat without even so much as scoring a point," he explained. "They’ve always scored more than 100 points in any tournament. And 90% of those are scored by him alone."

"True," Kalim sighed, scratching his head. "The last time we competed against them, we couldn’t even lift a finger!"

"His talents totally disrupt the game’s balance," Idia muttered because, of course, he was going to have a game-related comment. "It’s kinda unfair."

"This tournament is not merely made for," Crowley continued. "The whole world will be paying attention in search of a talented new magician. Even more so, Diasomnia has managed to win every single competition without even displaying magic. I guess you could call it a desperate measure."

"This tournament is really important to all of you, huh?" Jonah asked.

Idia sighed. "Pretty much. I just get tired when I fight strong enemies, too."

"So, I would like to ask the opinion of the dorm with many members aiming to join the Magical Shift Pro League, Savanaclaw." Leona didn't change his lazy posture, but he was staring at the headmaster intensely. "Your dorm has never fallen behind third place in any of the tournaments ever since the school was founded. And yet for the past two years, you have only managed to play in the first game against Diasomnia. Not to mention, you never even won." Under his mask, Crowley frowned at the prefect. "You will not be able to make an impression on the professional board this way. Your team’s future is at stake, too."

All prefects turned toward Leona, waiting for his response. They could see his tail swishing, ears down, glaring at the headmaster. Realizing the attention, Leona sat up, straightening his back. "Are you saying that we’ll be losing without even putting up a fight this year, too?" he asked with a growl in the end.

"I’m not saying this because I want to either," Crowley responded. "In any case, I already have Draconia’s unspoken consent regarding the matter. All I need is to hear everyone’s opinion."

Leona laughed, throwing his head back. "You’re underestimating us." He was smirking, radiating a confident aura. "Listen here, Teach. I hate being told 'You’ll never become number one!' the most, got it?"

"That’s not what I’m saying-"

Leona cut him off. "Then, what’re you trying to say? In any case, Magishift doesn’t rely on just the body. It’s important to think, too, right?"

"I don’t think I can win against Malleus in that department either." Kalim let out a nervous laugh, but his effort to lightening up the mood didn't work.

Leona gave him a sideways glance as if he was mocking him. "Yeah, probably. But I’m different from you. No one can win against that guy when it comes to power, but there are other methods available."

Jonah let out a sigh. "Please," he spoke up, resting his chin on his palm of his hand and elbow on his knee. "Elaborate for us."

Leona smirked at the boy. "With pleasure." He stood up, shoving his hands to his pants pocket, acting so cockily. "The King of Beasts managed to become king because of efforts and wisdom. Use your heads and think of a way to win against that monster, too! If you manage to win, the whole world might just praise you, too." He turned toward the other prefect, ending his sight on Jonah. "Are you really going to let this chance get away?"

Jonah was glaring at him but he didn't say anything. He couldn't really comment on that, mostly because he wasn't going to play in this. So, technically he had nothing to do in this. In the end, he only huffed, averting his gaze from Leona's intense stare.

Vil was the first one to respond after the short silence. "So you do make great points from time to time. I was about to say that the Headmaster’s suggestion was nonsense, too." He turned toward the headmaster. "Excluding people with talent is considered an unconscious bias. Don’t you think it’s similar to being unconsciously prejudiced? And I disagree with that notion."

Riddle raised his hand. "I agree with Senior Vil's opinion," he said, slowly lowering his hand. "And as a fellow magician, I find it unsightly to run away before even trying."

"That hotshot’s disappointed face will be broadcast internationally," Leona added. "Just imagining it’s enough to make you sing your praises already, right?"

Azul chuckled. "That sounds like a good way to amass ratings."

Kalim nodded. "Yup, yup. We don’t wanna be left out, too~"

"Eh? What’s going on? I’m the only one who thinks he should be in the Hall of Fame?" Idia suggested, but, of course, everyone decided to ignore that.

Leona turned back to Crowley with a smile on his face. "You heard us, Teach. We’re not hearing any more of that Hall of Fame crap."

Crowley looked around the room, seeing how the majority of them disagree. "Goodness me..." he sighed. "I understand. However, he shall be inducted next year as my condition for letting him compete this year."

Leona sat back to his seat, leaning back with his arms folded behind his head. "Do what you want."

Crowley turned his head toward Azul and nodded, signaling that they were done here. Azul nodded back and stood up again. "Now then, that is all for today’s meeting. Everyone, please do not forget to turn in your registrations," he said. "Though personally, I wouldn’t mind if you were late..." He giggled at the end, earning an eye-roll from Jonah and a sigh from Idia.

"By the way," Vil suddenly said. "Did you all forget to invite Malleus to today’s prefect meeting again?"

...

...

...

_Ah... So that's why they didn't hear him respond though all of the disagreements..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm back.  
> We've finally reach Leona's Arc! What does NRC have for us this time?  
> Also yeah, don't worry about any jumbled up timeline, I will make this work eventually.


	42. Cafeteria Scramble! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cafeteria is the ultimate warzone.

“It’s finally lunch!” Ace said, stretching his arms when he finally walked out of the class. Deuce and Jonah, with Grim on his head, followed behind him. “Wonder what should I eat today?”

Grim groaned as he laid down on Jonah’s head. “Ugh… I can eat anything right now! It was a struggle to stay up during Professor Trein’s lecture!”

Deuce stared at the cat. “I saw you across the room. You fell asleep after only five minutes. You don’t struggle at all.”

Jonah looked up. “Seriously, if I get detention because of you, I swear I’m going to smack you.”

Grim just snickered at him. “You never actually smack me, Jonah. You love me~”

Jonah just rolled his eye. “You only love me because I feed you.” Grim was grinning at this.

“By the way, Jonah.” Deuce looked own at Jonah’s hand. He was holding two small lunchboxes, stack together and covered in a white cloth. “You bring lunch?”

“Yep,” the captain nodded, lifting the lunchboxes. “I figure this is way cheaper than buying at the cafeteria.”

Ace looked up to Grim. “You’re okay with this?”

Grim just shrugged. “He’s cooking it, so why complain?”

They finally reached the cafeteria and they found an unusual sight. Well, a cafeteria filled with students was normal, but they never had **this** much. Especially around the counter. It was more crowded than it usually was. They could’ve sworn that some students who started growling like hungry predators.

“I’ll have 3 chocolate croissants!”

“Score! I managed to buy some! This shop’s egg sandwich is seriously good!”

“What’s going on today?” Ace asked out loud, voicing the small group’s confusion.

“Ah, Jonah.” The eye-patch boy turned around and saw a familiar Pomefiore student walking toward him, eating the yakisoba bun in his hand.

“Epel.” Jonah smiled at him. “What’s with all the commotion?”

“Oh, you know Daisy Dragon Bakery? The one at the foot of the mountain?” Epel asked. Ace and Deuce nodded while Jonah and Grim shook their head. Epel bit his bread again before continuing. “Well, it’s a famous bakery and it seems that they always have this special sale once a month.” He bit his bread again, humming at the delicious flavor. “They’re pretty good.”

“Heh~” Ace looked at the crowd. “It would be a miracle to be able to go through there.”

Deuce chuckled. “Though, it seems to be worth it. What do you think, Jonah?”

Jonah just shrugged. “I have mine and Grim’s lunch, you know,” he said, lifting his lunchboxes again. “So, I’ll be finding a seat for us or something.”

“Where is your cat anyway?” Epel asked.

Jonah turned at him confusedly. “Huh? He’s right-” He patted his head. Instead of feeling the soft fur, his hand immediately dropped to his head. “He’s gone.” Jonah looked around the room frantically. _Where is that stupid raccoon?!_

“Get out, get out! That deluxe minced cutlet sandwich is mine!”

_Don’t tell him…_

“Don’t cut in line!”

Jonah tried his best not to smack his forehead to the nearest table. “Why are you like this?!” he muttered, running his hand down his face.

Deuce sighed. “That guy forgets we exist when food is involved. Right, Ace?” When he didn’t get an immediate response, Deuce looked around too in panic. “Ace!”

“Ah, I’d like some grilled roast beef sandwich with lotsa lettuce!”

**Damn it!**

“A freshie cutting in front of his seniors won’t fly here! Get out!”

Deuce eyes widened when he found the familiar ginger hair among the crowd. “Ace! Grim!” he shouted. But neither two of them respond. Deuce turned to Jonah who just looked so tired. “Don’t worry, Jonah. I’ll get him.” Without waiting for any response from the captain, Deuce immediately jumped into the crowd.

“Guys please…” Jonah groaned. **Why? Just why?**

“Are they always like this?” asked Epel, watching how Deuce was basically swimming and jumping through the crowds like a majestic dolphin.

Jonah sighed and then shook his head in an affection manner. “This is normal. There are no stopping us.” He let out a light chuckle. “Well, I better find a table for us.” He turned to Epel again. “Want to join?”

Epel stared at him confusedly. “Me?” he repeated, pointing at himself.

Jonah nodded. “Yeah. Unless you already have a plan…”

Epel didn’t have plans. But this was the first time somebody offered him to sit together. With him still having trouble fitting into Pomefiore, also with Vil and Rook constantly insisting to sit together with him just to make sure he used the correct spoon, he never really had a lunchtime friend. Maybe, he could join Jonah and his friends.

“That… That would be great,” Epel said, giving Jonah a small smile, in which Jonah smiled back.

Meanwhile, a senior suddenly walked up beside the two kids, whistling at the big crowd. “Aw, man~ I’m completely late for the cafeteria food wars, huh…” he whined. “The deluxe minced cutlet sandwich Leona asked me for is completely sold out now…” _Now, what is he supposed to feed that prefect of his with?_

“Nyahaha! I’ll indulge myself in the taste of victory!” Jonah, Epel, and the senior suddenly turned their head toward the voice. Grim flew toward him, bringing a handful of sandwiches. He flew around Jonah’s head, laughing victoriously. “How’d ya like that!? The last deluxe minced cutlet sandwich is mine! And these yakisoba bread and cream bread are also mine!”

Jonah let out a groan. “Those are too much Grim! How much are they? You know we’re on a tight budget.”

“Actually, they are free,” Epel perked up and Jonah’s eyes widened.

“They are?”

“Yep!” Grim cheered. “Look! We even have enough to spare for afternoon tea!”

“We don’t have an afternoon tea schedule!” Jonah shouted.

“We have now!” Grim laughed. “It’s all thanks to the great me!”

The senior’s lips curled up into a smile. _Oh, this is gonna be fun…_ He started to walk toward them, announcing his presence as he said, “Ah… Hey, you’re pretty amazing~! I’m surprised you managed to buy a deluxe minced cutlet sandwich~!”

The three of them turned toward him. Jonah in particular suddenly froze. He had seen that guy before. He was there when that lion-jerk attacked him in the Botanical Garden. He could felt his cheek heated up when he thought back at the moment. Was the senior going to mention that just to embarrass him? Hopefully not.

“Huh? Who the heck are you?” Grim asked, frowning at him.

The senior laughed at him in amusement. “Hey, I really have to buy that bread today, but they’re all sold out. So, I came here with a proposal.” He took out the bread that he got earlier from his pocket. “Would you trade me your deluxe minced meat sandwich for the mini red bean bun I have?”

Grim immediately started hissing. “Hah!? No way!”

“Aw, come on, don’t say that~” Unknowing by the first-year, the senior pulled his other hand behind his back, slowly twirling his Magical Pen. A magic circle appeared above Grim and slowly descend as if it was scanning him. And suddenly, to everyone surprise, Grim’s paw picked up his deluxe minced cutlet sandwich and slowly offered it to the senior.

“Grim?” Jonah frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Huh–!?” Grim tried to pull back, dropping his other sandwich in the process, but his hand just won’t stop, offering the sandwich. “What’s this, my arms and legs are moving on their own–!?”

The senior snickered. “Here you go~” He stopped twirling his pen as he snatched the deluxe minced cutlet sandwich and swapped it with his mini bean bun. “Alright, trade complete~ Shishishishi~”

The first-years stared at him in shock. What just happened? There was no way the glutton Grim would just offer his prized food. _There must be something going on…_ “I’m so glad I found someone nice to trade with!” he said as he turned around to walk out the cafeteria. “Thank you, bye-bye~!”

Grim stared at the mini red bean in his hand. Steams came out from his ears. _Oh, he's pissed._ He threw the bun to the ground and turned toward the senior and Jonah could’ve sworn he saw a magic circle appeared beneath him. “Hey, give me give back deluxe minced cutlet sandwich!”

The senior only glanced at him with a playful smile on his face. “Nope! It was a fair trade,” he said. “Hey, that mini red bean bun is delicious, I swear! The smallness might hurt you though.”

The magic circle underneath Grim became brighter as the cat started hissing. “I’m taking back what’s mine!”

“Grim wait-”

Before Jonah could stop him any longer. Grim shot his paws forward, shouting, “ **_[ACCIO, last deluxe minced cutlet sandwich]_ **!”

A magic circle appeared around the sandwich and, without anyone anticipating, the sandwich flew away from the senior’s hand at a quick speed. “Hey!” he yelped. However, the speed was too fast and suddenly -

_*splat!*_

\- Jonah’s face was suddenly covered with meats and sauce. The impact was too hard that they could see a red mark on his face from the ripped plastic.

“Jonah!” Epel shouted in surprise. Jonah slowly brought his hand up to his face and without hesitation, wiped the food off from himself.

“My sandwich!” Grim wailed when the bread fell to the ground.

“Your sandwich?” Jonah growled. He reached out to Grim’s neck and started shaking him. “What about my face?!”

“You’re supposed to catch it!”

“You’re supposed to warn me!

Meanwhile the senior was still in shock, staring at his empty hand before looking at the shouting fest between the boy and the cat. **Well… That was unexpected…**

**How would Leona react to this?**

* * *

_Dear, Uncle Leona,_

_Today, daddy took me around the city. It was so fun! The people are so nice and an old lady gave me a candy apple. It tasted so good!_

_Daddy says one day I will become king and rule everything! It’s going to be awesome! But then, what will Uncle Leona be?_

_Oh, and we got the invitation a few days ago. Will you be playing this year too? I really like to see you play! I can’t wait to see Uncle Leona again!_

_\- Love, Cheka_

“Leona!” The half-lion who was laying on the ground at the Botanical Garden quickly crumpled the letter in his hand. It wasn’t like he’s going to keep it, just like any other letters from his nephew. He threw the paper aside before sitting up and glancing at the approaching hyena-boy. “I brought you some food.”

Ruggie threw the bread inside of a plastic to Leona who caught it with one hand. He looked at the food, frowning. “What is this?”

Ruggie shrugged. “Red bean bread.”

Leona glanced back at him. “You know I don’t like this.”

Ruggie sighed. “Your prey’s cat stole it back.”

Leona paused. **His prey?**

**... Wait.**

“The boy with an eye-patch?” Leona asked.

“Yep,” Ruggie answered. Though his ears perked up at Leona’s sudden interest. “What are you going to do about it?”

Leona crushed the red bean bread in his hand. **That boy…** “Not yet,” he said in a low voice. “As long as he doesn’t get involved.”

_He doesn’t need some nosy herbivore sniffing around his agenda…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was trying to find good pacing to write this arc and I think I've found it.  
> I hope this can be a double update since the next chapter is pretty short.


	43. Days are Like Clouds that Straddle the Sky! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH: "Do you want to ride my broom?"  
> RIDDLE: "..."

“Flying lesson?”

“Yeah.” Jonah nodded. It was during recess when Jonah and Riddle coincidentally met in the library, looking for their books for research. It was then when their conversation led up to Riddle talking about how General Magic is his favorite subject and asking on what is Jonah’s favorite subject.

“If I have to choose a lesson I can be good at, it’s probably Flying,” the eye-patch boy added.

“Why?” Riddle asked. Physical Education wasn’t really Riddle’s favorite subject, so he couldn’t really see the appeal.

Jonah chuckled as he shrugged, “I don’t know. I just…”

He stopped right next to an open window. Jonah turned to the window, looking at the blue sky. “It feels great to be up there. Sometimes I wonder if I can touch the clouds or stars…”

Riddle didn’t understand why he felt his cheek heathen up. The curtains of the window fluttered, spilling light over the boy. The soft wind ruffled Jonah’s reddish-brown hair, his ahoge dancing on top of his head. The sunlight highlighted the dust that swirled through the air from the musty bookshelves for some reason gave Jonah’s already soft smile even more beautiful.

“I-” Riddle tried to spoke up before closing his mouth again. _Wait. Why did he stop? Come on, Riddle. What is wrong with you?_ He cleared throat, gaining Jonah’s attention. “I can teach you.”

Jonah blinked in confusion. “Eh?”

"I-I'm free tomorrow." Riddle averted his gaze. “How about we meet tomorrow after class?”

At this Jonah perked up. “Really?”

Riddle nodded, glancing at Jonah again. “Yes. You helped me, so I’ll help you.”

For some reason, Jonah's smile widened and his eye twinkled. “Thank you, Senior Riddle!”

He was grinning so bright and so sincere and Riddle once again felt his cheek heathen up and his heart was bumping in a faster rhythm.

* * *

“Why are we having an additional lesson on Saturday?” Grim muttered, hanging onto Jonah’s shoulder.

Riddle folded his arms across his chest. “You really think I would just forget about your massive crash last month?” He knew he was making up excuses because there was no way Riddle would say that he helped them because Jonah asked him. Well, Grim appeared to take the bait because he immediately froze up. “There’s no way I’m letting you fall from the sky again.”

Jonah chuckled at this. “Alright then. What should I do first?”

“Maybe actually summoning your broom?” Riddle suggested with a raised eyebrow. “You can’t actually ride mine because it only listens to me.”

“Hmm…” A light bulb appeared on top of Jonah's head. He glanced at Grim. “Grim. Do Accio!”

Grim grinned at this. “Alright.” He flew to Jonah’s head and stood with his two legs. A magic circle appeared in front of him as he chanted. “ **_[ACCIO, Roy Mustang 2003]_**!”

Riddle blinked at this. “W-Why?”

“Oh, Grim named our broom so it won’t get swapped with the others,” Jonah said.

“Yes, but why…” The red-haired prefect frowned. “‘Roy Mustang’?”

Jonah and Grim exchanged a glance before looking back at Riddle. They shrugged. “It just sounds cool,” Jonah said like it was a fact.

Only a few seconds later, a broom suddenly came flying from the direction of the Ramshackle Dorm. “Here it comes!” Grim yelled excitedly. Jonah nodded and extended his hand, ready to catch the broom -

_*whack*_

\- only for it to smack him on the face and causing him to fall but Grim managed to avoid it.

“OW!”

“Jonah!” Without hesitation, Riddle grabbed Jonah’s hand and helped him up. Jonah gratefully took the hand, while the other was rubbing his face.

“Why…” he muttered. “Just... why?”

Grim was patting his cheek, humming as he thinks “Maybe I should stand in front of you instead?”

Jonah nodded. “Yeah. Maybe,” he muttered. “We need more practices.”

Riddle sighed. “You have to be careful when using spells, especially when you two are working together.”

Jonah nodded. “Understood.” He then mounted his broom, Grim sitting on the very front and Jonah kicked the broom off the ground, hovering a bit. He then turned to Riddle. “Well?”

Riddle raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, what?”

“Aren't you going to climb on too?” Jonah asked.

At that Riddle blushed. “R-Ride with you?” He shook his head. “I-I’m supposed to fly next to you.”

Jonah scratched behind his head sheepishly. “Well… I’ll probably understand this more if you give me direct tutoring. You know, straight up pointing at my mistakes and all.”

Riddle let out a “Gck!” Well, it was true what Jonah was saying. It would be easier if they just fly on one broom and Riddle gave him direct instruction. But the idea of **riding together with Jonah?!**

Grim snickering was the one that brought Riddle back to reality. Jonah was staring at him with a confused look while the demon-cat was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Riddle cleared his throat. “A-Alright then.” Riddle climbed onto the broom, trying his best to sit too close to Jonah. “Right. Are you ready to fly?”

Jonah nodded. “Grim?” The cat gave him a thumbs-up.

Riddle nodded. “Okay. Slowly, put some magic to the broom. Not too much unless you want to blast into space.”

“That would be fun though.”

“Jonah!”

The eye-patch boy laughed. “I’m just joking.” He turned to Grim. “Remember, Grim. Gently.”

“Fine…” A magic circle appeared below the broom before it disappeared. The broom started to float higher from the ground at a steady pace.

Riddle looked down. “So far so good.” He looked forward again. “Alright. Move forward.”

Jonah and Grim gave him a nod and the broom move forward. “Good job, Grim,” Jonah cheered, patting Grim on the head. The cat let out a purr.

“Alright. Try to take a turn. Keep it steady,” Riddle instructed. Jonah slowly tiled the broom to the left as Grim kept the magic flowing steadily. Glancing down, they could see the tiny people below.

“Try to dive,” Riddle said again and Jonah gladly did it. Grim let out a laughed as if he was riding a roller coaster as the dive down to the academy, zooming past the towers.

"Yes, it worked." Jonah grinned as they flew upward and ended up hitting a tower. "Ah, sorry." He apologized then he hit into another tower.

"Be careful, Jonah!" Riddle yelped, unconsciously honding onto Jonah’s PE jacket.

"That was my fault," Jonah chuckled in embarrassment.

Grim rolled his eyes. “Let’s just fly away from here,” Grim added the power as they started flying upwards into the sky. “Woohoo!”

“Yea, boy!” Jonah cheered and Riddle couldn’t help but join the laugh. It was actually fun to fly together. _Maybe they can do this again-_ Riddle shook his head, blushing. _What is he thinking?_

“This is amazing!” Jonah cheered. “The wind on my-”

And all of a sudden, it was as if they flew into a storm. Suddenly it was hard to breathe as dust filled the air, making the three of them cough and closed their eyes. What just happened? A sandstorm? Whatever it was, it made Jonah lost control of his broom and Grim stopped his magic. With no magic to support them, all three of them started to fall straight down screaming.

“SWEET, MERCIFUL, MILKY WAY!” Jonah yelled, quickly hugging Grim, as they fell.

Riddle looked around in panic. His eyes caught onto Jonah’s broom. Doing his best, Riddle floated toward the broom and managed to grab it. But he knew he couldn’t ride it. So, he yelled to the duo. “Jonah! Grim!”

Jonah and Grim turned toward Riddle. Jonah then tried his best to reach out to Riddle. Riddle stretched out his hand. Between the dust-filled storm that nearly making them blind, they managed to hold hands. They maneuvered themselves onto the broom. But they were still falling pretty fast, just a straight drop to the courtyard. But at the last second, Grim managed to control his power, despite his panic scream along with the other two boys, to make them fall slower.

"Jonah, hurry up!" Riddle said, hugging Jonah as close as possible, as the ground was just merely a few feet away.

Jonah looked down in panic. In a last-second decision, he ripped off his eye-patch, yellow-and-red eye glowing. “All hands on deck, everyone!”

He didn’t know how that happened, but as soon as he said it he immediately took control of the broom. As they avoided crashing to the ground, Jonah managed to maneuver the broom and was swiftly able to guide all of them from hitting any students or buildings. With one final pull, they were finally in the sky again, away from any obstacle.

Riddle managed to open his eyes and saw they were out of danger. "You did it!" he said amazed.

Jonah was laughing out loud, doing a loop-de-loop in the sky as Grim cried in happiness, grateful that they avoided death.

None of them realized a pair of eyes were watching them from a window in one of the towers…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really like how this chapter turned out.  
> It was just a filler, but I enjoy writing this.  
> And, oh boy, something fishy is going on...


	44. Condolence Greetings! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TREY: (Insert culprit’s pronoun here) pushed me down the freaking stairs!

“Order up!” Jonah slid the plate of seafood fried rice across the counter which Jade caught it expertly and put it on his tray. Floyd’s head soon appeared through the window as he waved a piece of paper.

“Baby seal~ We need some of those smoked salmon with hollandaise sauce to go~”

“Coming right up!” Jonah twirled his spatula before going to the refrigerator and picked up an already-cut salmon. Grim was sitting on one of the baskets at the corner of the kitchen, watching Jonah cooked that salmon. The smell was so good…

“Jonah…” Grim whined, his paws moved like he was doing a grabby-hands. “Let me taste some…”

Jonah just rolled his eyes and chuckled. “No, Grim. Our part is the leftovers.” To which Grim pouted but didn’t do anything else for Jonah promised that he would cook twice as much if he behaved today. Of course, Grim being a glutton as he was wouldn’t miss that chance.

It was an ordinary day of work and Grim was in one of his moods to follow Jonah to work. Grim wasn’t really against Jonah to find work. They have to eat somehow. Besides, the leftover from Mostro Lounge were top qualities so Grim couldn’t protest much. To get free food and to pay their debt? Wasn’t this the best deal ever?

“Captain.”

Both Jonah and Grim turned toward the window when they could see Azul’s head poking in there.

“Hey, Boss,” the chef smiled before turning back to his dish, pouring some hollandaise to a plate. “What can I do for you?”

“Can you make me some of your flat white coffee?”

This time Jonah did look up again, frowning at the glasses-wearing boy. “But you just had those earlier.”

Azul sighed. “I know. The paperwork isn’t done yet. It was amazing that there are so many player formation changes in just a week before the game.”

“Tough luck, Boss,” Jonah chuckled. “I’ll make you Earl Grey Tea instead.”

“Anything will do, Captain,” he sighed before he walked away.

“Order up!” Once again, Jonah slid the plate of food across the counted which Floyd caught this time. He then moved to the drink section to brew up some Earl Grey Tea with the right amount of milk that Azul liked.

“Grim, can you take this to Azul?” Jonah asked as he placed the cup of tea on a saucer.

Grim looked up from his laying position on the blanket. “No way,” he scoffed. “You’re the employee here, so it’s your job-”

“Oh, my~” Jonah opened the refrigerator again. “I don’t think I will be taking back this tuna.” He sighed dramatically. “I guess no spicy tuna roll for dinner. Too bad.”

Grim immediately took the tea order and flew through the kitchen window. He grumbled when he heard Jonah laughing behind him. How dare he threatened him with food? Damn that cheeky pirate. As he was about to turn around the corner, Grim’s ears perked up when he saw a familiar blue-haired boy.

“Deuce!” Grim called as he flew toward the boy who turned his head to him. “What are you doing here?”

“Submitting the new player list for Heartslabyul Magishift Team,” Deuce said, lifting the brown folder he was carrying.

Grim let out a sigh. “Aw, man… I wish I can play in the Magishift… Jonah said that we can’t because we don’t have enough people in our dorm!”

Deuce just chuckled at this. “Well, maybe next time you can join.”

Grim pouted. “Anyway. You said ‘new player list’. What happened to the old one?”

Deuce blinked in confusion. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

Deuce frown. He looked concerned. “Senior Clover got in an accident. He fell down the stair.”

Grim nearly dropped the glass. “Wha- That lanky glasses?! He can’t be that careless.”

Deuce nodded solemnly. “I know. He just doesn’t give off that vibe.”

“Well, we better see him!” The cat exclaimed, bopping in the air.

“Wait. What are you doing here in the first place?”

“It’s Jonah’s shift today, and I decided to tag along because he might get lonely.” The cat grinned. “Heh~ I’m so kind, right?”

“Then, shouldn’t we wait for him?” Deuce asked again.

“It’s fine. His job ends at night anyway. I’ll tell him everything about this.”

* * *

There was a knock on the door before it was opened revealing A-Deuce and Grim. “Pardon the intrusion,” the ginger-head was the first one to said, followed by the blunette and the cat.

“Senior Clover, are you okay?”

“Hey, Glasses! We came here to check on you!”

Cater waved at them from his position; sitting on a chair next to Trey who had a cast around his right foot. “Oh, it’s the A-Deuce combi~” he greeted with a cheerful smile on his face. “You even brought Grim with you~”

Ace and Grim walked ahead while Deuce closed the door behind him. “What’s with the “A-Deuce” thing, Senior Cater?”

“Eh? You both have “-ce” at the end of your names, so I just combined them~”

Both Ace and Deuce’s cheek turned red. “P-Please call us by our complete names!” the blunette whined but Cater just laughed at him.

“A-Anyway,” Ace said, trying to steer back the conversation. “More importantly, what exactly happened to Senior Trey?”

“Ah, I missed a step on the stairs,” the greenette chuckled. “I tried to be cautious during the fall, but my right leg ended up getting the worse of it. I’ll have to be in crutches for a while.”

Deuce eyes widened. “Eh–!? Isn’t that kind of bad?”

Trey nodded and sighed. “It looks like I won’t be able to participate in this year’s Magift Tournament.”

Grim was fidgeting with something behind his back as if he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to take it out or not. “I thought of letting it slide if it was just a small injury, but…” he muttered, with a tint of pink on his furry grey cheek. Slowly he took out a canned tune (which he stole from Mostro Lounge’s kitchen). He flew toward Trey and presented it to him. “Here. Get better soon, ‘kay, Glasses?”

This was an actual surprise for most of them since they knew that Grim wasn’t a sharing type. _Maybe he slowly changes for the better?_ Trey smiled at him and took the canned tuna, already formulating a recipe for it. “Thank you.”

Another knock was soon heard and everyone turned their head toward the door as their prefect opened it. Riddle frowned at the newcomers. “What are you all doing gathered in an injured person’s room?”

“Ah–!! It’s the irritable Riddle!” Grim squeaked, hiding on the other side of Trey’s bad. Trey just chuckled and pat grim on the head.

Riddle huffed. “Irritable, you say? I won’t get mad if you don’t break the rules.” He looked around the room, eyebrow raised. He looked back at Grim. “And where is Jonah?”

“Part-time work.” The scared looks on the cat’s face suddenly morphed into a teasing smile. “What? Are you disappointed?”

Trey could’ve sworn there was a blush on Riddle's cheek. It was actually quite endearing knowing that their strict prefect had a soft spot for the captain, which didn’t come as a surprise for them. Riddle cleared his throat before looking at Trey again. “Trey, how’s your condition? Is there something you want to drink or eat?”

Trey sighed, but he was still smiling. “You don’t have to be so worried. I told you, I’m feeling okay.”

Riddle frowned looking rather guilty. “But… You got injured because of me and…” he said with a small voice.

Ace caught this. “What do you mean?”

Riddle clicked his tongue, probably didn’t expect anyone to pick up on that. He sighed, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I had to go to the 3rd years’ classroom because I had business with them. But then…”

Ah yes, Trey remembered what happened clearly.

_“I’ll be a little late,” Riddle said, adjusting the books in his hands as he and Trey walked to the stairs down to the fourth floor. “I’ll catch up with you at the Magical Shift Tournament.”_

_Trey nodded. “Got it.”_

_“I’ll leave it to you, then-”_

_It happened so fast. Riddle moved like he suddenly lost consciousness despite his eyes widened and face paled. His books fell from his hands, dropping to the ground loudly. Riddle didn’t even look like he tried to stop himself from crashing down the stairs._

_“RIDDLE!”_

_Trey wasn’t strong enough to pull both of them up. His instinct immediately took over, hugging Riddle and protecting his childhood friend as they tumbled down the floor. He was pretty sure he had_ _lost consciousness because when he opened his eyes he found himself in the infirmary, Riddle looking over him with teary eyes._

“He covered for me when I fell down the stairs and he got injured himself…”

Trey watched Riddle rubbed his upper arm. The guilty look was still on his face. “I think you’ll have been able to break your fall, you know?” he said, trying to lift Riddle’s mood. “I covered for you on my own, so don’t worry about it.”

“Still…”

“Come on, Riddle!” Cater stood up, holding Riddle’s shoulder from behind, making the perfect flinched a bit. “No need to be so gloomy!” Cater slowly started massaging him. “I feel bad about Trey’s injury, but we just have to do his best in his place~”

Riddle let out a relaxed sigh. “Y-yeah, you’re right.”

Cater smiled. “Come on, let’s give the injured person a chance to rest. Disperse, disperse~” He started to push Riddle out of the room. Trey recognized the wink that Cater gave to the first-years. He knew something. Riddle knew something.

**Something didn't match up...**

* * *

“So, Cater.” Riddle pushed Cater’s hands off his shoulder, once again crossing his arms in front of his chest. “There’s something you couldn’t say in front of Trey, isn’t there?”

“As expected. You’re quick on the uptake, Riddle.” Cater’s smiled disappeared and replaced with a frown. “But you're hiding something about how Trey got injured, don’t you?”

Riddle bit his lips. The first-years were also staring at him with confused looks on their face. “Just a strange feeling. It is true that I hadn’t slipped nor had someone pushed me from behind that day. However…” His forehead furrowed. He could recall the faint feeling at that moment. A feeling like someone pulled his body and forcing him to fall. He wasn’t in the right mind. He was pretty he wasn’t thinking to fall, but his body certainly thought otherwise.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt like my body just moved around on its own,” he ended up saying.

Grim folded his paws in front of his chest. “Huh? Maybe this is related to what Jonah's boss said.”

Riddle turned to the demon-cat. “What?”

“That mafia dude said something about a lot of players changes reports that came up.”

Putting aside that weird (but somewhat fitting) description of Azul, Ace asked, “Does that mean this has happened a lot recently?”

Deuce frowned at this. “That... sounds suspicious.”

“Indeed.” Riddle tapped his chin as if he was a detective. “Wonder if the headmaster knows about this? I will ask him about this.” He looked up toward the Grim. “Make sure you and Jonah come too, tomorrow.”

The cat nodded at him. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of messed up the order of event, and it actually slows me down.  
> I don’t know if today’s going to be a double update. I spent my entire day editing my video assignment and fell asleep last night.


	45. Consecutive Accidents! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CROWLEY: "I have heard about these incidents."  
> JONAH: "And you didn't do anything?"  
> CROWLEY: "The plot demands that I have to become useless."

"Yes. I've heard about this."

Riddle, Jonah, and Grim exchanged glances in surprise before turning back to Crowley. "You have?" Jonah asked.

Crowley solemnly nodded. "Prefect Ashengrotto had been reporting that there has been an increasingly concerning amount of people being injured in accidents around the school."

"So, it wasn't only an attack on Heartslabyul?" Riddle asked again.

"Indeed. Falling from stairs, getting scalded by boiling water, et cetera." Crowley slid a brown folder across the table. Riddle picked up the folder and opened it. Jonah and Grim looked over Riddle's shoulder. The three of them scanned through the reports of multiple incidents from various dorms as Crowley continued. "The reasons vary, but the fact that more people keep visiting the infirmary due to accidents still stands. Mister Clover's was actually the 11th victim."

Riddle looked up at this. "That many already?"

Crowley sighed and nodded again. "Unfortunately, there were very few witnesses…"

"Are you sure they were just being clumsy?" Grim asked.

Crowley hummed. "The Magical Shift Tournament is nearing and the students are indeed getting restless. Even so, the number of accidents compared to last year’s is too much. Even more, all the people that were injured were students who were the top candidates for the Magical Shift Tournament."

Riddle closed his folder as he and Jonah exchanged a glance. They had the same expression on their face and shared the same idea. "You're saying that these were done on purpose," Jonah said, turning back to the headmaster.

"It had to be that," Riddle said. "I felt it myself." He then frowned. "However, if the accusation only comes from me, we don't have enough proof."

"You're right," Crowley said. "Though, all the accidents happened with at least one witness. And all the victims say the same thing. None of the ones injured were acting differently before."

"Wait..." Grim flew off Jonah's shoulder and landed on Crowley's desk. "I can see where are we going here."

All of them stared at the annoyed-look cat. "Oh?" Crowley perked up.

"You want us to investigate don't you?" Grim pointed his paw at the headmaster "Hah! Like I care!"

Riddle's hand curled up into a trembling fist. "What are you trying to say, cat?"

Grim clearly couldn't read the mood. He crossed his paws in front of his chest and turned away from Crowley, tail flicking in annoyance. "I mean, this doesn’t concern me! I won’t even be able to participate in the competition either way. I don’t care what happens to the tournament now."

Jonah grabbed Riddle's shoulder, pressing it a bit too hard. Riddle's face was nearly red in anger. How dare this cat acted so selfish like that? Jonah looked at the cat. "Grim. Please consider this first-"

"Is that so...?" The headmaster cut Jonah off, staring at Grim with a playful glint in his eyes. "And here I went all the way to prepare a special reward for you..."

Grim smirked at him. "Hah! I’m not falling for that again! I won’t cooperate if you don’t give me at least a hundred canned tunas."

"Then what about... Allowing you to participate in the Magical Shift Tournament?"

Grim's tail stopped swishing. He turned his head slightly toward the headmaster. "What..."

Both Jonah and Riddle could see how Crowley's lips curled up into a smile. "Should you manage to solve the case, I will allow your dorm special rights to participate in this year’s tournament." He laughed. "How about that? Oh, how very kind of me, is it not~?"

Grim turned toward him, staring at him with wide eyes and perked up ears. "A-Are you serious?!"

Crowley leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying how he had caught the cat in his offer. "The winner of the tournament will be shown on TV internationally. It’s a chance to be showered with praise and applause~ You might even get the chance to announce what a great newcomer you will be~!"

Grim clutched his head. "Th-this is bad... I’m getting lured in by the image alone...!"

Crowley then sighed dramatically. "However, you said you won’t be cooperating, did you not? How unfortunate. Let’s pretend I didn’t say anything about the matter."

Grim gasped immediately flew toward Crowley's face in panic. "Wait for a second! I’ll do it! I’ll help out!"

Crowley faked a surprised expression. "Oh, my? You will?"

Grim puffed out his chest. "If you’re gonna let me in the tournament, then it’s obviously a yes!" He flew back to Jonah's shoulder. The boy himself looked like he just wanted to slam his head to a wall for Grim's always-changing wants. "Right, Jonah?"

Riddle sighed at this. "You have no shame, don't you?" He turned to the headmaster. "We will be needing these to investigate this if you don't mind."

Crowley nodded again. "Please, take it." He started at the small group of students, pulling up a gratitude-filled smile. "I will be counting on you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It turns out that I can do a double update! Though this is way shorter than the previous one since we're only covering one plot point in this jumbled mess.


	46. Afterschool Research! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation, START!  
> (Insert Danganronpa music here)

The next morning, since they didn’t have class on Saturday, the Heartsabyul along with Jonah gathered at the courtyard. Riddle had already explained the situations to Ace, Deuce, and Cater and all of them decided to join in the investigation.

“These are the reports of the victims. I’ve divided it into two groups evenly so we can cover much faster.” Riddle gave Cater a brown folder. The orange-haired boy opened it up, with Ace and Deuce looking from over his shoulder. “Now, Ace, Deuce. Both of you go with Cater. Grim and Jonah will go with me.”

Ace looked up to him. “Hey, how come Jonah get to go with you?” he asked, staring at Riddle suspiciously. “Shouldn’t it be better if we go as one team?”

“Since most of the victims are Magishift Player, Cater and I know them,” Riddle answered. “It’ll be easier and quicker to find them if Cater and I aren’t in the same group. So, we have to separate you.” He glanced briefly at Jonah and Grim, who was sitting on Jonah’s head, before going back to Ace. “Besides, I can’t separate Grim and Jonah.”

Jonah and Grim exchanged a glance then shrugged. Well, he had a point. Ace squinted his eyes. “Then, you can always be one group with us, right?” His lips pulled up a Cheshire-like grin. “Jeez, Prefect… You can just admit it that you want the captain all for yourself~”

“Wha-” The blush on Riddle’s face became more visible. “H-How dare you to accuse me of something like that?” Ace was laughing out loud, Deuce snickered, and Cater just gave him a playful smile. He could hear Grim also laughing behind his back. Meanwhile, Jonah just tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong with that?” Which only made the others laughed harder and Riddle’s face even redder.

“Haha! Okay okay!” Cater wiped the tear from the corner of his eye. “How about we start our investigation? We have a lot to do.”

Riddle cleared his throat, finally regaining his composure. “Right,” he said. “We’ll meet again in Heartslabyul.” All of them exchanged a nod and the two groups walked toward their direction.

“You really want to hang out with me?” Jonah asked once they were far enough. Riddle turned his head to the side, trying his best so Jonah wouldn’t see the light blush on his cheek.

“Friends hang out together right?” he tried to reason.

Jonah rolled his eyes up, thinking for a while before smiling. “Yeah. That makes sense.” He grinned at Riddle. “I’m glad you like to hang out with me.”

Riddle still couldn’t understand why his heart beat faster every time this boy smiles…

* * *

“Excuse us!” Ace announced when the three of them walked into the infirmary. About three people were laying on some of the beds. Two of them had bandaged wrapped around a part of their body. Cater looked around and spotted a boy younger, second-year, with bandages around his head. He walked toward him, Ace and Deuce following from behind.

“Yo! Tarrant, Thackery!” The senior greeted as he waved his hand. Two of the students looked up and immediately smile.

“Cater!” Thackery, the one sitting on the chair stood up and exchanged a handshake with Cater. “What’s up?”

“Oh, we’re here to ask Tarrant a question,” Cater said, looking at Thackery while taking out his phone. “It’s about your fall.”

Tarrant, who was laying on the bed, whined, throwing his head back to the pillow. “That was an embarrassing day…” he muttered. “In front of my boyfriend nonetheless.”

Taking a small glance to see Thackery's cute blushing face, Cater opened his recording apps. “So, what happened that day?”

Tarrant groaned, massaging his temple. “I don’t really get what happened either. I was walking while talking with this guy… And before I noticed it, I fell down the stairs.”

Thackery nodded. “Yeah… It’s kinda different from him just tripping or slipping…”

“It’s like my body just floated and moved on its own… I can’t really explain it well…” Tarrant sighed.

“It just likes what Prefect Rosehearts told us,” Deuce whispered to Ace who nodded in agreement.

Cater pressed his phone to stop recording. “Alright. Thanks, guys.”

Thackery and Tarrant gave him a nodded before Cater turned around, looking at Ace and Deuce. “Okay. Who’s next?”

* * *

“Excuse me.”

The two Pomefiore students, who were returning their books to the library shelf turned toward the shorter boy. “Which one of you is William Hammond?”

The two students exchanged a glance then turned back to them, looking at Jonah and Grim like they were just some lowly peasant. “Who in the world are you guys?” asked the one with bandages around his right hand.

“I’m Jonah, and this is Grim,” Jonah said, pointing at himself and Grim who flew next to him.

“You got injured the other day, right?” said Grim, pointing at William’s bandage. “Tell us what happened.”

The two students gasped at them as if Jonah and Grim just did something so vulgar. “How dare you!” the other student yelled. “His feelings are hurt right now because he trained so hard for the tournament but now he can’t even participate!”

“How insensitive of you two!” William took out his Magical Pen. “You come here asking without even a shred of sympathy! I challenge you! Pick up that glove and fight!”

Grim squeaked and immediately flew to the top of Jonah, summoning his magic circle underneath him. “Oh! You wanna go? You wanna go?! Bring it on, buddy!”

“En garde!” William’s friends also took out his Magical Pen, pointing it at Jonah, who just stared at the two seniors with a look that said ‘Really? Are we really doing this?’

“Hurt him and it’ll off with your heads.”

Both of the seniors turned around and gasped dramatically. Riddle stood at the end on the hall, arms crossing in front of his chest, already holding his Magical Pen which glowed dimly.

“R-Riddle Rosehearts!” William’s took a step back, his back pressed against the bookshelf.

Riddle walked toward them still with a stern look on his face. It was a bit funny. Riddle was way shorter that the two seniors, and yet they cowered before his presence. “We’re here to find out about your injury,” he spoke one again, stopping when he was close enough. “And I hope you cooperate.”

William sighed. “A-Alright. You leave me no choice. I’ll tell you what happened.”

“Please do.”

Willam was about to say something but his spoke up instead with the most dramatic voice Jonah had heard. “It happened in the laboratory. The cauldron he was using to prepare some potions suddenly slipped from his hands and it caused an uproar in the classroom! To top it off, the potion spilled all over that even the desk was so soaked! I was so surprised, goodness…!”

“Christopher! Are you going to narrate everything!?” William yelled at his friend, but Jonah and Riddle ignored them, glancing at each other.

Riddle looked up at them again. “Keep talking.”

* * *

“Most of the victims said the same thing,” Riddle said, putting the report on top of the Heartslabyul lounge's coffee table. “They claimed that as if their body moved on their own.” He frowned. “I had a feeling that these were someone’s doing.”

“Should we investigate more?” asked Deuce from his seat on the sofa next to Ace.

Riddle nodded. “Yes. In the meantime, I think it will be better if we can watch out for other possible victim candidates.” He turned to Cater. “You think you can find some of the top players?”

Cater winked. “On it.”

“Alright.” He turned to the first years. “We’ll continue this after we have more info.” The small group of pirates nodded. There were so many things missing. Hopefully, they would figure this out soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, jumbling up the timeline actually made my job harder.  
> Next time, we'll definitely be meeting some other students!


	47. Conspiracy Chasers! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Children can be troublesome. When in doubt, just carry them all the way home.

"Alright. I've summed up the list of potential targets and shared it with our group chat." Cater said when they gathered once again in front of the Heartslabyul Dorm. Jonah looked over Riddle's shoulder as the prefect turned on his phone (maybe after he pay all his debt he can buy one of those). There were four people on the list: Rook Hunt, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech, and Jack Howl.

"Okay then." Riddle turned off his phone. "We'll split up again. Cater, you and your team go and find Rook Hunt. Jonah and I will find Jade and Floyd."

"Aren't they the twins you're working for?" Grim asked, looking down at Jonah from the top of his head.

"Yeah," the captain answered. "They're usually together. So, if we find one of them, we'll find the other one as well."

Riddle nodded. "Exactly. Alright, we'll meet up again in the Hall of Mirrors.” With some collective nods, the two groups went to their separate ways.

* * *

“Rook Hunt is from Pomefiore and a third-year student like me,” Cater said, walking in between Deuce and Ace through the hallways of the school. “He’s a very capable player who was vital to the competition in last year’s tournament.”

“Then, shouldn’t we be visiting his dorm first?” Ace asked. “It seems like it’s a good place to start.”

Before Cater could answer, just as they turned a small boy appeared, crashing onto Cater’s chest. “Whoa!” Cater immediately grabbed the boy’s shoulder. The boy looked up and Cater to heard Ace and Deuce gasped.

“You’re that Pomefiore kid from Flying Class!” Ace exclaimed. “What’s your name…” He snapped his fingers repeatedly. “Apple…”

“Epel.” The purple-haired boy spoke up. “Epel Felmier.” He stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to crash on to you.”

“Aw, it’s okay~” Cater smiled. “Oh, by the way, since you’re from Pomefiore, you know Rook Hunt, right?”

He could felt the boy shivered under his hands and from the way his face just paled, he didn’t need further explanation. “W-What do you need from him?”

“Well, you see. Have you heard about the accident of some Magishift Player.”

Felmier stopped shaking. He frowned at him. “Yes. They are some players from our dorm who got injured as well.”

Cater nodded. “Yes. We’re investigating this now, and we’re wanna check on Rook. He’s not hurt, right?”

Felmier frowned. “He’s fine, actually. He’s very-”

“Oh, Monsieur Little Apple~”

From the way Felmier suddenly tensed up and how his eyes widened, Cater could guess that he was screaming in the inside. The three Heartslabyul looked up and saw another student jogging toward them. He blonde hair which he wears in a bob-cut and green-eyes. Along with his formal uniform with indigo vest, he also wore black gloves, light brown boots, and a light brown hat which has dark brown trim and a large white feather.

Felmier suddenly grabbed onto Cater’s jacket. “Please, take me with you! I’ll help with anything. Just take me away from-”

“Oh, there you are~!” The student finally caught up to them and Cater could’ve sworn he head Epel let out a whine. He looked at the Heartslabyul students. “Oh, Bonjour~”

“Hello, Rook!” Cater waved his hand. “Are you doing fine these days?”

“Of course~” Between them, Felmier was trying to squeeze himself out, but Rook managed to catch him by the collar. “Oh, you don’t mind if I take Little Apple from you? He’s late for his afternoon tea lesson.”

Cater glanced back to the Ace and Deuce. “Well, guys?” The first-yeares looked at Rook from his hair to his toes, then glanced back to each other. Both of them shrugged at Cater. The orange-haired boy turned to Rook. “We don’t mind. We’re fine here.”

“Oh, splendid, mon’ami!” Before anyone could respond anything, Rook suddenly picked Epel up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Well, we have to bid you farewell~” He tipped his hat, in which Cater just smiled and nodded, and walked away. Felmier actually looked miserable being carried like that.

“So…” Ace started. “That was Rook Hunt?”

Cater nodded. “Yep.”

“He’s kinda… Strange, isn’t he?” Deuce suggested.

Ace nodded. “If I were the culprit, I won’t target that dude.”

* * *

"Jade and Floyd as a twin have a strong coordinated playing style which became their strongest point. I’ve heard that anyone who plays against them are always at a loss," Riddle explained as he and Jonah walked through the Main Street.

“I’ve seen them,” said Grim. “They’re pretty scary. It's like they can read each other minds."

"Well, they are twins," Riddle said again as he turned off his phone and put it in his blazer’s pocket. "Though I wonder if anyone would dare to attack them though."

"Why would you think like that?" asked Jonah.

"Sibling instinct." Riddle shrugged. "No matter how much you hate them. No matter how hard they hurt you. You just couldn't help but protect him."

Jonah had this feeling that Riddle said this from experience. "Do you... Have a sibling?"

Riddle steps became slower, and Jonah followed the new pace. The red-haired prefect sighed and looked up to the sky, the wind bowling his ahoge ever so softly. "No. But I sometimes play with Trey's younger siblings." He sighed again, this time looking down at his feet. "Once, one of his sister pissed me off so much and Trey just laughed. He said that even though she was annoying, she was still a child... And no matter how annoying she was... He couldn't just straight-up hate her."

Jonah blinked at this new information. So, there were more things that he didn’t know other than those visions during his overblot rampage? Jonah, slowly put a hand on Riddle’s shoulder, smiling when the redhead lifted his head toward him. "You should introduce me to her."

Riddle smiled back. "Maybe one day if you decide to visit the Rose Kingdom."

"Heeh~ Can we meet her too?"

"Wha-" Grim question was cut short when all of a sudden, Jonah felt himself being swept off his feet and brought close to someone’s chest. The culprit jumped back a little, giving them a distance away from Riddle and Grim. Of course, neither of them took this lightly.

“You!

"Floyd!"

The taller teen in questions just grinned at them. "It's just not fair if Baby Seal gets all the fun~"

“Hey! Put Jonah down now!” Grim was fuming at this point, steams coming out from his ears.

"I don't wanna~" Floyd playfully shook his head. "I carry him all the time!"

"Wha-" Riddle squeaked.

"No, you don't!" Jonah retorted. "Hugging is one thing, but not carrying!"

Riddle's face immediately turned red. "H-H-H-H-H-HUGGING?!" His scream nearly made Grim fell to the ground in surprise. The redhead grabbed his Magical Pen, clutching it tightly. "Y-Y-You can't just h-h-hug another student without their permission!"

"There, there, Floyd." A voice suddenly came up from behind Riddle and Grim. They jumped away slightly when they saw the other twin standing there, smiling, but didn’t sit well for the other two. "You should put him down. We don't want to anger Prefect Rosehearts here."

“But, Jade~” Floyd pouted. "I wanna take him back to the dorm!"

"But it's not my shift today," Jonah tried to reason.

"Don't care~" Floyd nuzzled Jonah’s cheek, which set off Riddle and Grim, but they didn’t dare to attack because they might hit the boy instead. "I need my daily dose of Jonah’s cooking ~"

"I have to be honest, he's quite skilled in the kitchen," Jade chuckled. "Best chef we have for a very long time." Jonah blushed a bit at this, sort of glad that many people enjoy his cooking.

"W-Well, we don't have time for cooking!" Riddle spoke up, trying to look calm despite his trembling fist and red face. "Put him down, right now, or I'll cut your head off!"

"Aw, don't be mad, Goldfish~ Sharing is caring remember?"

"And don't call me that!"

"I mean, you’re small and red, so obviously you’re a goldfish~"

"S-Sorry,” Jonah spoke up again, not wanting a fight to break out. “But can you put me down, really please?"

Floyd looked down toward him, eyes shining like a puppy. "But..." he whined.

"I'll do anything," Jonah decided to say, which got a squeaked from Riddle and Grim. "Just... We have some things to do today."

"Anything?" Floyd repeated, to which Jonah nodded.

Jade hummed. "That's quite bold of you, Jonah." He lifted his gaze to Floyd, eyes shining with secrets. "What do you think, Floyd?"

Floyd puffed out his cheeks, like a child trying so hard to think. "Hmm~ Okay!"

Slowly, he helped Jonah stand on his feet again, taking his sweet time to let go of their hand. Once they did though, Riddle and Grim immediately moved. The redhead grabbed Jonah’s hands, pulling him behind him to protect him away from the twins, while the demon-cat, set himself on Jonah’s shoulder, hissing at them.

"If you ask anything that involves touching him without consents, I swear I'll cut your head off."

"Don't think so lowly at me, goldfish!" Floyd whined, pouting. "I would never do that."

"It's true," Jade said, his smile this time looked reassuring. "We're not that desperate."

Riddle huffed. "Come on, Jonah." He pulled the eye-patch boy down the Main-Street toward the school. Jonah tried to keep up the pace, only slightly turning around to give the twin a wave, to which Floyd waved back while Jade just raised his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very late update. I was busy yesterday and will probably be today too.  
> So, I don’t know if today is going to be a double update since tomorrow’s chapter is pretty long and has a battle scene. I need to search for a one-to-one battle that’s not too long.


	48. Territorial Attack! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation continued!  
> Also wolf-boy!

"Yo, Prefects!" Ace raised his hand as a greeting when Riddle's team finally arrived at the Mall of Mirror. He didn't receive any response but the sight of Riddle's red face manage to shut him up.

"What happened?" asked Deuce with a slight concern.

Riddle huffed. "We've found The Leech twins. Those two have always been so difficult to grasp that I can’t really understand them."

"Those two seem like they’ll target you for revenge if you hurt them," Grim said as he flew from Jonah's shoulder. "I probably won’t go after them."

Jonah just nodded. He then looked down, that was when Ace realized that they were actually holding hands. _Whoa. Did their prefect already go that far?_

"Senior Riddle," Jonah called, squeezing their hand a bit. "My hand?"

The squeezed managed to bring Riddle back from this silent thought during his small pouting. Looking down, he immediately pulled his hand back, whispering. "Sorry."

Jonah shook his head, smiling reassuringly. "It's alright."

Riddle's cheek was still red. To distract himself, he took out his phone, hissing when he turned it on. "I have to head back," he said. "Laws of the Queen of Hearts Number #346: _One must not stay and play croquet in the gardens past 5 PM_." He pocketed his phone back as he continued, "I’ll return to the dorm for now. If I take my eyes off them, there will surely be people breaking the rules."

Grim raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you’d gone soft, but you’re still the same as always, yanno?"

Riddle turned his head toward the demon-cat. He opened his mouth, only to closed it again. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I-I think I’m being a little bit lenient on the rules lately, though..."

Cater chuckled. "Yup, yup~ He’s been nicer lately~ But his seriousness is one of his charm points, too~" He patted Riddle on the top of his head, earning a pout from the boy.

Jonah chuckled. "Don't worry about this, Senior Riddle," he said. "We'll take care of this."

Riddle glanced at him before giving him a nod. He almost seemed upset but didn't say anything more. With a nod and a small "hmm", he jumped through the Heartslabyul mirror.

Ace walked toward Jonah, whispering. "What happened earlier?"

Jonah gave him a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head. "We had a bit of a problem with the Leech twins."

Grim huffed, crossing his paws in front of his chest. "'A bit of a problem', my ass," he grumbled. "That eel boy gave me the creep. He's too touchy..."

Ace blinked at this. "Touchy..." His eyes immediately widened. He grabbed Jonah by the shoulder. "You're alright, right? He didn't touch you anywhere lewd right?"

Jonah just stared at him confusedly. "Wha-No! He just carried me, that's all."

"Carried you?"

"Uh-huh. Bridal style."

"BRIDAL STYLE?!"

Deuce punched the wall beside him. It didn't surprise Ace but Jonah did. "How dare he..." Deuce growled, but his anger immediately disappeared as fast as it came. He rested his forehead on his clenched fist on the wall, a rain cloud hovering above him. "We failed to protect our captain..."

Jonah just looked at them back-to-back confusedly. "Guys, it's alright. I'm fine."

"Nothing is fine..." Ace grumbled. "It'll never be fine..."

"C-Can we just focus on finding the next possible victim, please?" Jonah glanced at Cater, pleading through his eyes. "We can talk about this again later, 'kay?"

Ace brought his face closer to Jonah that he was sure that the shorter boy was so uncomfortable from this. "I swear I'll make you a flower bath to wash those sinful touches away."

Jonah just let out a weak chuckle. "Whatever you say... Geez..."

Ace let go of Jonah's shoulder, stepping back to give him space. He turned to Cater. "So... Who's next on the list?"

Cater was smiling so wide that it was scary. It looked like he was amused by the sudden scene earlier. Well, Ace couldn't blame him. It did come out of nowhere. The senior took out his phone and read the list. "It’s Savanaclaw’s Jack Howl. He’s a first-year, just like you guys. He’s pretty athletic and there’s a rumor that he got a flurry of invitations from various athletic clubs. He might be back in the dorm around this time, huh. So, let’s head to Savanaclaw’s Dorm."

"Wait a minute..." All of them turned to Deuce who had regained his composure. "I know him! He's in the Track and Field Club just like me!"

Ace walked toward Deuce. "Then you know what he looks like, right?"

Deuce nodded. "I can introduce him to you. Come on!"

The others gave him a nod before all of them headed toward the mirror that looked like a stone archway, decorated with animal bones and torch on each side.

* * *

The Savanaclaw Dorm was just like how Jonah had imagined. Well, it looked like a savana. The dorm was styled like a rocky cave with fake animal bones everywhere. It was dry, but not too hot and there were some trees. Though, the main attraction was the large field with a circular goal post at each end. _Could it be that this is where the Magishift will be held?_

"The atmosphere’s completely different from ours," Ace muttered, making Jonah to turned his head toward him.

"Ain’t it~?" said Cater. "It feels completely rough, doesn’t it? I guess it’s got a wild image in general~"

Ace turned to Deuce. "So... This Jack guy. What kinda guy is he?"

Deuce started to look around. "Well, he’s tanned and got silver hair. Oh, and he has wolf ears and a tufty tail."

Grim flew from Jonah's shoulder, flying high to get a better look. "A tufty tail...?" He muttered, looking around. "Ah, I think I found him, guys!"

Jonah looked up. "Where is he?"

"He's on the field." Grim pointed to the area. "The one jogging by himself over there."

All of them turned to the field and they did catch someone running around there. Deuce eyes widened. "Yes. That's him!"

All of them followed Deuce toward the field. "Hey, Howl!" the blunette called and the wolf-hybrid turned toward him. Jonah inwardly cursed at the height difference. _Was this boy really a first-year student? Why was he so tall?_ He had an incredibly big and tall body and is bulky. He had tan skin and silvery-white hair with golden-brown eyes. He possessed both wolf-like ears and a tail, the same color as his hair.

The boy, Howl, stopped running. "Uh... Spade, right?" he said unsure. "From Track and Field."

Deuce nodded. "Yes. It's nice to see you," he said, offering a hand.

Jack took the hand in a handshake. "Nice to see you too." He looked behind Deuce toward the small group of Heartslabyul students. "What are you all doing here?"

Grim flew in front of the group facing the wolf-boy. "We think you might get targeted by some bad guys, so we’re here to protect ya, spiky head!" He puffed out his chest, looking proud. "That makes you happy, doesn’t it?"

"What?"

"Grim!" Deuce pulled Grim back. "Sorry, Howl. That came out wrong." Grim was staring at him, looking offended, but Deuce just continued, "Actually, there’s been a lot of accidents at school involving the Magical Shift players and we’re searching for the culprit behind it."

Jack frowned at them. "And what’s that got to do with me?"

"To put it simply," Cater stepped in. "We’re looking at potential targets in hopes of finding the culprit."How 'bout it? Will you cooperate with us for a bit~?"

Howl was staring at them, his tail stopped wagging and ears perked up high. "I refuse," he finally said. "I can do something about it on my own. I don’t need your protection."

Jonah frowned worriedly. "Are you sure?" he asked. "It's better if you have someone to watch your back."

Howl just kept on frowning. "I said I don’t need it. Plus..." He averted his gaze which didn't go unnoticed by Jonah. He continued in a softer voice, almost whispering. "I probably... won’t even be targeted." He turned around and raised his hand. "See you." With that, he ran back to the dorm.

Grim huffed as he flew back to Jonah's shoulder. "He seems blunt and gives me bad vibes, yanno?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Anyone will get annoyed with how you talk to them."

"Ugh! Humans are so nitpicky about so many things!"

Jonah sighed. "Well, we can't do anything more here. Let's just head back-"

Just when he turned around, his face came crashing into someone's chest with an "oof!"

"Hey, what’re you guys doing over there?"

Ace immediately pulled Jonah back just as more Savanaclaw students surrounded them.

The boy Jonah crashed into, with the floppy-dog-ears, leaned down to looked at them. "Wait a minute... They’re from Heartslabyul."

One with fox-ears snickered. "They’re followers of that Spoiled Red Brat."

A boy with bear-ears cracked his knuckles. "Don’t think you’ll get home in one piece after stepping in our territory."

Jonah clenched his fist, obviously not taking any of these. But at the same time, they already crossed the line by intruding their territory. Knowing the majority animalistic traits, he should've guessed that they would be rather territorial.

"We didn't mean to cause any trouble," Jonah spoke up. "Well be leaving now." Just as he turned around, he once again found himself crashing into someone's chest with another "oof!" Deuce immediately pulled him back and Cater held both of his shoulders.

A boy with cat-ears laughed. "Aw, come on. Play with us a bit!"

Another one with jackal-ears joined the fun. "Hehehe! Let’s play a hunting game! ‘Course, ya guys will be the prey!"

The Heartslabyul gang gathered closer. Jonah hugged a hissing Grim close to his chest. _This is bad... This is bad... This could be messy, he just knew it. What should he do?_

"Stop it." A very familiar voice suddenly called out as the other Savanaclaw students turned toward the dorm and made way for the one walking toward them.

_Well... Damn._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to combine this with the next episode, however, I haven't prepared the battle scene. Usually, it took me nearly a day to write one battle scene, which is why I always write the final battle first before any actual episode.  
> Unfortunately, I won't be featuring any Magishift game (yet), since there will be a really big difference by the end of the arc. However, I will be making a filler arc just the boys playing Magishift together, probably titled 'Jonah and the Lioncubs' or something.


	49. Beastly Conflict! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I made Leona into an earthbender.

"Prefect Leona!" Leona just groaned at the shouting. The shouting continued as he walked closer. He could already feel the growing migraine.

"These guys were trespassing on our turf."

"Let’s make them pay for it!"

Ugh, all these herbivores were making too many noises. Leona walked toward the group, making his way through the group of noisy students. In the middle of the circle, he could saw that Heartslabyul student, Diamond, some two other brats, that cat from Entrance Ceremony, and-

"Well,” Leona smirked, looking at the small boy at the center of the group. "What do we have here? It's the little prefect who stepped on my tail."

The eye-patch boy sighed. "That was ages ago and you just decided just now to mention that again?"

"Oh?” Ruggie popped his head behind him. “What is your prey doing here, Leona?"

"Ah, you!” The cat pointed at Ruggie. “Deluxe minced cutlet sandwich!"

"Hey, don’t just make my name sound delicious." Ruggie pouted. “The name’s Ruggie Bucchi.”

"Wait, what?! He stepped on your tail, Prefect?!"

"Unforgivable!"

"Shishishishishi," Ruggie snickered. "Man, that was a sight to see~" Leona shot Ruggie a threatening glare, but the hyena just laughed.

"Leona, Ruggie, let’s knock ‘em out!"

"Stop yapping, you idiots,” he hissed. "We’ll be disqualified from playing in the tournament if you get in a fight. Do you want that to happen?"

"Are you saying we should let such tasty prey go, sir?!"

Leona smirked. "No one said anything like that. Let’s treat them to some Magical Shift then."

"With Magift?" One the Savanaclaw boy said.

"Using magic all we want during a practice match isn’t against the rules," Leona stared of the Heartslabyul student, challenging them.

"Shishishishishi~ You’re such a bully, Leona~” Ruggie snickered. “These wimps won’t last one game, y’know?"

“Heh! We can take you on!” The cat raised his paws into fists. But the eye-patch boy pushed its head down, stepping in front of the group.

"That doesn't seem fair, does it?" he spoke up, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "A senior bullying their freshmen."

Leona snorted. "Well, you little herbivores trespassed our territory. Not to mention you never actually say sorry from stepping my tail."

The boy’s brow frowned. "Then, you have a problem with me. I'm the one who gave them the idea to go here."

"Cap-"

Argentum cut the red-haired Heartslabyul’s words. "So, if you want to settle the score, you have to fight me. Leave them alone."

Leona and Argentum stared at each other. The boy had that spark in his eye, which made Leona grin, showing his fangs. "Good to know you’re spunky. Won’t be fun if you can’t put up a fight. ” He said in great amusement. “Alright, let's do it your way. Let's see which prefect wins."

* * *

"What are you thinking?!" Ace shouted in his face. The hands on his shoulders were squeezing a bit too tight. "You can't play Magishift!"

"Neither do you," Jonah tried to reason, swatting the hands away from his shoulder and stepping back.

"We know the basic at least!" Ace shouted again. "And you don't have any magic! How are you supposed to play?"

"I can fly." Jonah glanced at the demon-cat. "Grim."

"Huh?"

"Do _accio_."

"But-"

Jonah shot him a glare. "Just do it."

Taken back, Grim nodded. He raised his paws, a magic circle appeared below his feet. " _ **[ACCIO, Roy Mustang 2003]**_!"

In only a few seconds, their broom came flying fast. Jonah stretched out his arm, aiming to catch it -

_*whack!*_

Only for it to smacked in his face, again. "Ouch..." he hissed rubbing the sore mark on his face.

"Jonah!" Deuce immediately grabbed Jonah’s face inspecting the mark. It wasn’t too bad, just the usual red mark.

"You stupid cat!" Ace screamed, chocking Grim. "What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Jonah pushed Ace and Deuce away. Grim sat down on the bleacher seat and Jonah knelt in front of him. "Grim. I need you to control your magic so I can fly, okay?"

Grim nodded. While he was happy that he could help he was also worried about all these. "Alright."

"Jonah." Cater walked up toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We can figure this out. We'll fight-"

Jonah smiled at him reassuringly as he took off his jacket (revealing his white long-sleeved top and gray vest) and tied it around his hips. "Don't worry. If this becomes too messy, I'll be the one get it."

"But-"

"I can't let you get hurt if I can prevent it." He didn’t wait for any response as he turned around and walked toward the other side of the field where Senior Bucchi was waiting for him with a disc in his hands.

"The rule is simple,” he said as he gave the disc to Jonah. “All you need to do is to score one point while Leona becomes the goalkeeper.” Bucchi pointed at Kingscholar who was already ready with his Magical Pen. “If you managed to throw the disc past the goal, you win. But if I managed to knock you down your broom, I win." Bucchi turned toward him again. "Are we clear?"

Jonah nodded. "Crystal."

Ruggie snickered and gave Kingscholar a wave, signaling that his opponent was ready. Jonah mounted his broom. From the bleacher, he could see Grim was concentrating on his magic as he saw a flash of a magic circle from below his broom before it started floating.

Kingscholar smirked as Jonah clutched the disc close to his chest. "Alright.” He threw his Magical Pen into the air. Under the sun, it suddenly turned into a wooden staff with a yellow crystal. “Let's play."

Kingscholar was the first one to make the move, no surprise there. A magic circle appeared underneath his shoes as he stomped forward, creating a shockwave that changed the dust around them into sands, hiding the two fighters.

“What’s going on?” Ace yelled from his seat. “I can’t see a thing!”

“Shishishi~” Bucchi giggled. “This is so cool! This is the first time I see Leona uses his _unique magic_!”

Inside the cloud of sand, Jonah was coughing. He held his broom and disc closer to his chest and using one arm to cover his mouth and nose. “How did you…”

“This is my _unique magic_ , _King’s Roar._ ” He could hear Kingscholar’s voice, but he couldn’t see him. “And that’s all you need to know.” All of a sudden, he could see a glowing light far on his other side and a boulder suddenly appeared through the sandy cloud. Jonah's eyes widened, winching when the sand caught in his eyes, and steered his broom to the right, avoiding the rock that came crashing to the ground.

Jonah looked around, trying to find the light again. That had to be from Kingscholar. He didn’t realize that Kingscholar could see him perfectly with a smug look on his face. His staff’s gem glowed again and he saw the way the boy’s head turned toward him. Just when Jonah about to take off, Kingscholar took a step and hit the ground with the end of his staff, summoning a column of Earth, hitting Jonah square on his chest. Jonah let out a gasp, but Kingscholar wasn’t done. He stabbed the Earth some more, hitting Jonah repeatedly, earning a small scream from the boy when he couldn’t hold back anymore. But the brat was still on his broom.

Being way too close to the ground apparently wasn’t the best idea. Jonah steered his broom upward, aiming to fly above the sandy cloud. However, Kingscholar had already predicted it. Raising his hand, he summoned giant rocks to float around him, glowing in yellow light. He held his staff with both hands, before swinging it one like a baseball bat. Jonah didn’t get to fly through the sandy dust before he had to duck from the flying rock. Kingscholar swung his staff again, sending more rock toward Jonah.

There were too many attacks he needed to avoid and Jonah could felt his broom was losing its power. He couldn't see it, but at the bleacher, Grim was breathing heavily, even with Deuce kept telling him to hang in there, while Ace and Cater was still trying to see through the thick sandstorm.

Kingscholar noticed the boy was distracted. Smirking, he raised his staff above his head and slammed it to the ground. The earth cracked and a column raised from the ground at a fast speed. And Jonah couldn’t avoid it. The column hit him, sending him off his broom. He tried to grab his broom again, but it was out of his reach -

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

\- thus, he fell to the ground without any protection.

It was actually a miracle that he was still twitching without any broken bone.

Kingscholar watched the fallen boy, chuckling as he clenched his fist, making the sandstorm disappear, revealing the two fighters who barely moved from their spot in the beginning, but only one of them standing.

Jonah could barely hear the cheers from the Savanaclaw student as a shadow fell over him. Letting out a pained groaned, Jonah turned his head, toward a smirking Kingscholar. "Hey, what’s wrong? Already giving up?"

Bucchi laughed from his seat. "Shishishishi! Your prefect is not so tough, is he?"

"Hey, Herbivore.” Kingscholar kicked Jonah’s leg. “Stand up. Let’s play one more game."

"Dammit…" Jonah groaned, trying to pick himself up, but only to fall again.

"Captain!" Ace screamed, jumping from his seat, followed by the others. Ace and Cater knelt, helping Jonah up from the ground and up onto Cater’s back.

"Stop this!" Deuce snapped, standing between the Heartslabyul and Savanaclaw students. "This has gone too far!"

"What are you all doing?"

Jonah lifted his head a little from Cater’s shoulder. Howl, in his uniform, walked toward them, looking angry. Kingscholar turned toward him. "Hah? We were just playing around with people who trespassed on our turf.”

"What’s so fun about bullying helpless people?” Howl said.

"What~? Look at you playing the cool hero of justice, Jack~ Shishishishi!” Bucchi laughed from his seat.

Howl growled at Savanaclaw student, making the upperclassmen to raise both hands, but still looking playful. "I was just saying that I can’t stand looking at this any longer. Is this something an upperclassman would do?”

Kingscholar stared at him before smirking. "Hah, you sure have guts, you first-year brat." He shoved his hands into his pants pocket and started to walk away. "Forget it. I’m bored already. Let’s go, Ruggie."

Bucchi jumped from his seat, giving Kingscholar a small salute. "Yes, Sir~"

The crowd slowly went away as Howl turned toward the Heartslabyul students. The eye-patch boy was on the verge of going unconscious if it weren’t for Ace shaking his shoulder. “Captain, wake up!”

Jonah weakly opened his eyes. “I’m… I’m fine… Just some scratches…”

Cater shook his head. "We're taking you to the infirmary."

"No. No...” Jonah groaned. “Just... Take me back to my dorm."

Cater and Ace glanced at each other but silently decided just do what the captain asked for. As they started to walk away, with Deuce being the farthest behind, Howl suddenly spoke up. "Will he be alright?"

Deuce turned around. He sighed. "Jonah is a strong guy," he said. He looked directly at Howl. "But, please, be careful not to get hurt, okay?"

Howl looked down to the ground, hands clenched into fists. "I said I don’t need your concern. Hurry up and go." Deuce didn’t say anything after that. He walked away, leaving Howl alone in the field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping that this will be the only moment I allow Leona to bully Jonah.  
> Also, crappy battle scene is crappy. Sorry for the hype.  
> The next chapters is already done actually, but I want to make a few editing, mostly adding some father-son scene with Crowley. I don’t know if I will do a double update today, because I kinda want to write the final battle first.


	50. Midnight Encounter! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of Bird-Dad!

Jonah was pretty sure he was unconscious throughout the panic of running back to the Ramshackle Dorm because when he opened his tired eyes (oh, someone took off his eye-patch) he found himself staring at the ceiling of his room. A white light appeared from the corner of his vision and when he glanced at it he saw the headmaster standing there along with the tall, white-haired, grandpa that he met back after Grim had bitten him.

“This shall do it,” the grandpa said as the gem on his necklace stopped glowing along with the disappearance of the white light. “He’ll be better after a night of resting.”

Crowley nodded. “Thank you so much, Shalom.”

The grandpa, Shalom Spencer, turned around and nodded back. “I will be leaving now.” Crowley gave him another nod and the grandpa walked out. Jonah could’ve sworn he heard him grumbled, “Boys these days… Never understand their limit.” 

Shalom closed the door behind him, leaving Crowley and Jonah alone in the room. Jonah slowly sat up, slightly surprised when he didn’t feel pain anywhere. The headmaster was still standing beside his bed. The silence was suffocating him and being under Crowley’s watchful yellow eyes just made him want to turn into goo.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” he mumbled.

Crowley sighed. His voice was uncharacteristically soft. “I expect better from you, Mister Argentum.”

 _Yeah. He's expecting that._ “I’m not breaking the rule. It was a one-on-one Magishift. We’re allowed to use magic as much as we can.”

“Yes. But putting yourself in a situation where you’re clearly on a disadvantage something that I expect the least from you.”

Jonah’s hands clenched into fists. “You didn’t say anything when we’re going to the Dwarfs’ Mine,” he said, voice firmer as he dared to take a glance at the headmaster. “You let us go there when we’re clearly on a disadvantage!”

“I did not expect there will be a blot monster, and I expect you to run away.”

“Oh, you really expect us to do that?” This time, Jonah was staring straight at Crowley. “You’re about to expel Ace and Deuce! You really think they’re just going to let you do that when they have this small chance?”

“And what if you die that day?”

“We didn’t!”

“But you could've been!” Crowley’s voice became louder now. “You were entering a battle you never fully understand. It was a miracle that you managed to get out from there!”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “Why do you suddenly care?”

“Don’t you dare roll your eyes on me, Young Man,” Crowley hissed, pointing at Jonah, making him backed up a bit. “You are living here under my responsibility, of course, I’m going to care.” He breathed out through his nose as he dropped his arm. "The teachers are currently looking for the culprit as well. So far, we only have as little information as what you have.” He pinched his nose under his mask. “I’m going to talk with Prefect Kingscholar.”

“Wha-?!” Jonah tried to stand up from his bed, but the glare from Crowley made him stop. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“So, you’re just going to let him beat you up, knowing that you don’t have magic, and get away from it?”

“I-” Jonah ran his hand through his face, sighing loudly. He was tired he didn’t want to talk about his (admittedly) stupid action. “Please. Just… It was my fault. I’m the one who challenged him.”

There was an uncomfortable paused between them before Crowley spoke up again. “I thought you are a captain.”

“I am.” This time, Crowley didn’t stop Jonah when he stood up, fists clenched on the sides, eyes gleaming with authority and determination. “And I’m not going to let my crew get hurt knowing that they don’t have to fight.”

Crowley stared at him for another few seconds before he sighed again. “You are a smart lad, Mister Argentum.” He turned around, his back facing Jonah. “But I think you need to look up what does it take to be a pirate.”

Crowley left the room, closing the door behind him. Jonah set back to his bed, confused. _Was he wrong though…?_

* * *

It was late at night when Jonah heard the echoing sound of marching footsteps. Opening his eyes, he saw the bronze orb on his nightstand. He frowned as he sat up, taking the orb to his laps. It felt heavy in his hand. It was glowing, sounds of marching footsteps echoed from inside it. He wanted to open it, but will it help him though? He remembered the majestic vision he got way during his time off with Riddle, but he couldn't find anything wrong in it, unlike the visions during Riddle's reign where the vision basically spoonfed him about what was wrong.

Jonah sighed. Well, he had nothing to lose now.

After some pressing and twisting, the orb once again let out the familiar green light. However, unlike the smooth motion that formed the sky and majestic rock, the vision started with bright flashing lights, changing back-to-back between the green and yellow as the sound of marching became louder, forcing Jonah to cover his eyes with his arm. When the flashing light finally stopped, Jonah lowered his eyes, trying to see what happen this time.

Beneath him, he could see more animals. Dogs? Wolfs? Wait... Hyenas. All of them are marching like the army, heads turning to the rock Jonah was standing on. That was when he realized that, once again, he wasn't alone. A lion was standing in front of him, with brown fur, black mane, and a scar on his eye.

**_"We will kill Simba together with his father. And then I will be the King! Stick with me, and you shall never be hungry again!"_ **

Cheers and laughter soon followed from the hyenas.

**_"Long live the king!"_ **

**_"Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared. Be prepare!"_ **

A bright light flashed once again as the laughter echoed through the night. When Jonah uncovered his eyes again, he found himself back in his room, standing on his bed.

"What is going on..." he found himself muttering. He climbed down his bed, putting the orb back to his nightstand. He sighed again. "I need some fresh air."

Walking to his cupboard and took out his Ceremonial Robe (probably the warmest clothes he had), and walked out his room. Climbing down the stair, he headed toward the front door, not bothering to lock it again Looking up to the sky, he could see the stars above. It was beautiful as usual. Sometimes during his late-night studies, he would just look at the night sky when he felt too dizzy. With his room being on the second floor of the dorm, he felt like he was close to the sky than standing in the yard like this moment. But he didn't mind. He raised his hand to the sky as if trying to see if he could catch the small light. He never could obviously but maybe one day he could...

A small green light flew past his hand. Was that a firefly? He heard footsteps, stopping not far behind him, followed by a deep voice. "Oya?"

Jonah almost automatically turned around, curious at the trespasser with that voice. _It sounds so familiar though..._ He found himself staring at a very tall young man with pale skin, glowing green eyes, and long dark hair. He has a pair of black horns and wore their school formal uniform with a green vest. _Which means that he's from Diasomnia... right?_

"Do you live here?" the boy said and Jonah just felt a shiver down his spine. Jonah clutched his chest. He could feel his heart beating faster and he didn't know why. _Was he afraid? Was he excited?_ "This place is supposed to have been abandoned long ago. I quite like to wander around here during my nightly walks for it is a quiet place."

"I..." Jonah opened his mouth. _What is wrong with him? Why is he back to being a stupid quite kid like back then?_ He cleared his throat, trying to regain his confidence. "I'm the prefect of this dorm, actually. I... We... We renovated it so it's livable again."

The boy crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Jonah from his hair to his shoeless feet and Jonah found himself reaching for his strange eye underneath his bangs. It was usual for him not to want other people to see his eye. But for this boy, it was for a different reason. He just couldn’t explain it. A feeling deep inside him kept telling him not to show it to this boy.

Of course, the boy noticed this. "How strange..." he muttered, "Tell me. What name do you go by?"

There was a warning bell ringing in his head. He felt like this was very important, something he had to remember. Jonah gulped, pulling his robe closer to himself. "You tell me yours first, then I'll tell mine."

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. "You do not know of me? Really? Hm, I see. Oh my, this is quite unusual, indeed," he chuckled. "It would be better if you don't know my name for now. If you knew who I was, it would certainly leave a chilling impression. Feel free to call me whatever you want."

Jonah wanted to retort. He felt like he was supposed to know this boy's name. That feeling kept nagging inside his guts. "I'm not afraid," he whispered.

The boy chuckled again. "I know you're not," he said. But why did he say that? "I just don't want you to regret your decision this early, Little Star."

Jonah frowned. _Why is this boy so weird and cryptic?_ Before he could say more, the boy turned to the Ramshackle Dorm. "Now that people are living here, this ruin isn’t completely abandoned anymore. How unfortunate. I must find another abandoned place on my next walk, then." He turned to Jonah again. He smiled softly and Jonah felt something strange inside his heart. "I shall excuse myself now."

"Wait-"

The boy disappeared in a flash of tight, leaving green firefly-like light fluttering around. Jonah dropped his stretched-out hand, still staring at the spot where the boy once stood. He clenched his trembling fist as he slowly sank to the ground. _Why does his heart keep on beating fast? It hurts_. He didn't want to feel this. This unfamiliar feeling only left him even more confused. He didn't want to be confused, he wanted to understand, he just wanted to know.

**_Have they ever met before?_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn’t make Crowley too ooc.
> 
> I bet you didn’t expect the boy to show up! 
> 
> On the other hand, 50 chapters! Woo-boy! This is officially the longest fanfic I’ve ever written. I’ve never reached 50 chapters or even nearly 100K before, and still on-going?! I’m so proud of myself!
> 
> And another thing, according to my draft, we have reached the mid-season of Leona’s Arc. However, the next filler Arc, unlike ‘Jonah Argentum’s Declassified School Survival Guide’, this filler chapters after Leona’s Arc is connected to the Arc itself. The first half of the Arc will cover Leona’s recovery and a delayed Magishift competition, while the second half covers more Jonah’s interactions with people, an obligatory Halloween episode, and final exam as a bridge to Azul’s arc.


	51. Conflicted Outsider! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Savanaclaw boys having a late night conversation...

"Thanks for the hard work today, Leona~" Leona opened his eyes Ruggie pushed the door open with one hand because he was carrying a tray on his other. "I brought you your dinner. Oh, and that other job is going really well."

The corner of Leona's mouth curled up. "You’re really sensible, huh, Ruggie."

Ruggie grinned. "Of course, I am~ Anything’s doable if it’s for you, Leona!"

“Hah, listen to yourself. You’re doing this for your own good, aren’t you?”

Ruggie put the tray on Leona’s nightstand. The prefect didn’t make any move to eat, which was a usual sight. “Aw, don’t be like that, Leona~! This is for our sakes.” Ruggie walked toward the balcony, looking at the light bellow. “We agree about overturning this world. Even the hyenas served the King of Beasts to overturn the situation they were in. I’m just doing the same thing.”

“Hmph, then do your 'hunting' properly. Don’t leave any evidence.”

Ruggie snickered. “Of course~ Not leaving any trace of their prey is a hyena’s specialty, after all, ~” He turned around, leaning against the stone railing. “By the way, Leona. Which player from what dorm should we target next?”

“Let’s see…” Leona closed his eyes for a moment, humming as he thinks. “How about a wolf who stands and eavesdrops on people’s conversations?”

“Eh!?” Ruggie frowned. _What is he talking about?_

Leona glared at his room door. “You’re there, aren’t ya, first-year brat? It’s kinda rude of you to listen in on people’s conversations like that.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Ruggie could pick up the sounds of footsteps from behind the door.

A familiar wolf-boy walking in, looking rather angry.

Leona smirked at him. “What are you doing here late at night? Are you so homesick that you need someone to sing you a lullaby?”

Ruggie snickered, deciding to join in the fun. “Should I sing for you~?”

Jack didn’t look amused. He had the same pissed-off expression he had that afternoon. “I want to know the reason why you’re doing this.”

Leona huffed. “I see now. You want to hear a bedtime story, huh. Fine, I’ll tell you.” He sat upon his bed, one knee up and an arm resting on it. “For two years in a row now, we’ve always lost at the first match against Diasomnia and Malleus. Eliminated in the first round, constantly.”

Leona’s voice sounded lower and lower that you could hear the growl behind it. “They’re consecutive winners. Ever since we went against them, our dorm, which was known for making opponents tremble, looks like weak kittens now. And our pathetic plays were broadcast to the entire world. What do you think happened afterward?” He clenched his fist. “The Prefect was deemed incompetent and all the professional league offers for Savanaclaw dwindled to zero.”

Jack frowned. “That’s… It’s because you simply needed to do more…”

“It’s as you say.” Leona scoffed. “Until last year, we weren’t living up to our true potentials at all. Only an idiot would think he’d stand a chance against those monsters. We knew we’d lose already, but it’s not like we have no plans. I doubt that the foundation of our dorm, the King of Beasts, would stand for us being pathetic.”

“Even so! Doing something as low as cheating is wrong!”

“Wrong?”

Leona slowly stood up from the bed and moved so he and Jack were standing face-to-face. Despite seeing both of the prefect hands in his pants pocket, Ruggie could feel the anger and annoyance slowly emitting from Leona.

“Jack…” Leona sighed. “I’m doing this because I’m concerned about the students’ futures, you know?”

Jack blinked in surprise, but Leona just continued with a smug smile on his face. “If the whole world sees us defeat Malleus, all those offers will come back to Savanaclaw together with our dignity. Malleus will be inducted to the Hall of Fame next year, so we have to win this year. And you’re saying that you’ll ruin this chance because of your blind justice? Are you planning on ruining your seniors’ futures?”

Jack pulled back a step. “Th-that’s…!”

Leona took this opportunity to step forward. “Using any means necessary to win in life is a given. It doesn’t matter if it’s cheating or not.”

“This school is a dogs-eat-dogs world,” Ruggie said as he walked back from the balcony. He stood next to Leona, pulling up his signature grin. “Being a goody-two-shoes will just kill you.”

Jack’s fist clenched tighter. “I’m sure you can take Malleus on if you play with your full potential, Prefect!” He looked down at his shoes. “I still remember the way you played three years ago. I…!”

“Don’t speak as if you know anything about me!” Leona snapped, making Jack look up at him again. “Play with all I’ve got? How stupid. No matter how much effort I put in, nothing will change.”

Ruggie saw Leona reached for his pocket where his Magical Pen was resting. He didn’t take it out, just giving it a light tap, a warning for jack. “Get out now if you still want to see the light of day,” the prefect growled.

Jack was silent for a moment and Ruggie could see the looks of disappointment painting his face. With an angry sigh, Jack turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Ruggie pulled his arm back, folding it behind his head. “That guy’s gonna be a problem.” He glanced at Leona. “Should I do him next?”

“No, don’t.” Leona pulled his arm back. "Even if he tells Crowley about it, he doesn’t have any proof.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “It would be difficult for us without his skills. Just watch what he’ll do closely for now.”

Ruggie gave him a salute. “Yes, Sir.”

With nothing to do there, Ruggie walked out of the room, ready to head and flopped into his own bed. Before he closed the door though, he could hear the faint sigh from Leona, followed up by a whisper.

“Tch… That first-year brat talks like Farena…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed yesterday update because I haven’t prepare anything. Since tomorrow is weekend, I think I can write longer.
> 
> And we’re getting nearer to the end of Leona’s Arc. Technically, Leona’s arc ends in the Magishift and I’ll be sticking to that. However, the draft I have doesn’t include Leona’s personal therapy like Riddle, so ‘The Rebel of the Wilderness’ will continue in a way longer filler arc. The temporary title is ‘Break & Squash’, which will cover, Leona-Jonah heart-to-heart conversation, Magishift remake, Halloween Special, (maybe) some other slice of life to meet new characters, and ends with Final Exam (which will be connected to Octavinelle’s Arc). Or it can be full-on Leona's Arc part two with 3 bonus chapters.  
> Hopefully I can cover this in just 9 episodes: 4 for Leona’s Arc aftermath, 1 for Halloween special, 2 for Final Exam, and 3 for others. So, if any of you have any suggestion for the 3 episode ‘others’, just hit me up through inbox or my Tumblr.
> 
> I’ll be putting up a ‘The Rebel of the Wilderness’ Finale Celebration when we reach the actual Magishift.


	52. Portrait of Evidence! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interrogation continues. This time with the Scarabia babies!

He didn’t mean to wake up late. Well, technically school wasn't in another hour and a half. But he hadn’t made any breakfast for him and Grim. That cat was probably complaining by now. When he finally reached the last stairs, he could hear the cluttering sounds of plates and spoons from the kitchen. _Had Grim wake up early?_

Walking to the kitchen slowly, he was surprised for what he had seen. “Guys?”

He didn’t anticipate a familiar orange-haired senior standing behind the counter while passing a carton of milk to Grim and a redhead senior who was previously sitting on the barstool while munching his cereal. All of them suddenly looked up toward him. It seemed that he wasn't fresh enough, because he didn't anticipate the sudden grips on his upper arms from redhead who leaped up and ran toward him.

“Jonah!” Riddle shouted in front of his face. “Why are you out from bed? You should be resting!”

“I-I’m fine, Senior Riddle.” Jonah reached for one of his hands. “No broken bones and all.”

Riddle squeezed his upper arms again, before moving to his cheeks and patting down Jonah’s body, making sure the boy wasn’t hurt anywhere. Happy that he didn’t receive any grunt or a winch, Riddle let out a sigh. “Good…” he whispered. But then he reached for Jonah’s shoulder again, screaming in his face. “What were you thinking? You fell from your broom, you could’ve died!”

“But I didn’t!” Jonah sighed. He rolled his eyes. “Not you too!”

Riddle sighed. “Please, just…” He dropped his head, nearly touching Jonah’s forehead. “Don’t do that again.”

Jonah bit his lip, reaching behind Riddle’s head and his finger softly through his hair. “I’ll try.”

Riddle nodded a little, then he pulled back, slowly letting his hand drop to his side. “What are you doing here anyway?” Jonah asked.

There was a small blush on Riddle's cheeks as he rubbed behind his neck sheepishly. “Well… I-We…” Seeing that Riddle couldn’t answer without stuttering, Cater was the one who answered.

“We’re here to have breakfast with you.”

“Jonah, Jonah!” Grim flew toward him, pulling him to the counter where, he just realized, an untouched bowl was set. “I’ve prepared some cereal for you!”

Jonah chuckled. “Thanks, guys,” he said, sitting on the barstool next to Riddle.

“You should be lucky that we arrived just in time,” Cater laughed. “Grim was about to pour buttermilk instead of milk.”

Grim nearly chocked in his mouth. “They have the same bottle!”

“And you were about to pour ‘milk’ first before cereal.”

“Cereal is cereal no matter the order of pouring!”

Jonah laughed. He turned to Riddle. “So, any other reason you came here?”

Riddle set his spoon on the counter again. “There has been another incident,” he said, not looking at Jonah. “Jamil Viper, a second-year student from Scarabia Dorm. We’re thinking to ask him after this.” This time, Riddle looked up to him, eyes shining his concern. “Just to make sure, are you sure you can join us? If you’re still hurt, I’ll make a permission slip for you.”

Jonah let out a small grin. “It’s alright. I can still run around.”

Riddle frowned. “Don’t.”

Jonah giggled. “But seriously, I’m fine. I’ll join in your search.”

* * *

“Yo! The dude that got injured in the kitchen last night!”

Kalim turned his head toward the voice, eyes widened when he saw a floating cat with burning ears. “GAH!” he screamed, standing from his seat and pointing accusingly at the demon-cat. “This raccoon’s the one that set my butt on fire during the Entrance Ceremony!”

“Grim, please.” The cat-demon was pulled back by a one-eyed boy who he always saw in the Prefect Meeting. “Don’t just go around and talk like that. You’ll bring more trouble.” The boy turned to Kalim and Jamil, smiling apologetically. “Sorry for disturbing your meal, Senior Asim.”

Kalim grinned at him. “Oh, Jonah. How many times do I have to tell you? Kalim is fine.” They heard other pairs of footsteps came closer, which turned out to be Riddle and Cater. “Oh! Riddle is here too!” He waved his hand at him as he sat back down again. “Hi there.”

“So, what can I do with you?” Jamil asked.

“We’re here to ask Viper about his injuries,” Riddle spoke up. “Also, are there any Scarabia Dorm students who are injured?”

Kalim tapped his cheek, humming as he thought. “Now that I think about it, a lot of our Magishift Player dropped out.” He turned to his vice prefect. “Right, Jamil?

Jamil nodded, turning back to Riddle. “Right. It wasn’t just me.”

Riddle nodded. “I see. What happened to you?”

“Well, last night, I went to the kitchen to prepare some of the fried buns with lamb meat that Kalim asked me to make.”

“The fried buns that he makes are really good!” Kalim grinned. “Come have some with us next time~!”

Jamil frowned at him. “Kalim, we’re getting off-topic.”

Kalim rubbed behind his head, laughing sheepishly. “Ah, sorry ‘bout that.”

Jamil just sighed, then he continued. “Anyways. While I was chopping the ingredients finely, my hands suddenly felt as if they were out of my control and I got injured in the process…”

_"Ouch!"_

_Kalim, who was sitting on his counter turned toward his friend. "Jamil?" Jamil was standing there, staring at the big cut on his right palm. Kalim's eyes widened and immediately ran toward him. "Jamil!" Without thinking he pulled the hand closer for him to inspect, earning a winch from Jamil. "You're bleeding!"_

_“I’m fine, Kalim. No need to worry.”_

_“This is not good.” Kalim pulled out his magical pen from his jacket pocket. “Here. Let me help!"_

_"Kalim-"_

_Kalim didn’t stop. Chanting a soft incantation, white pixie-dust-like light came out from his orange gem. The wound glowed softly before it slowly disappeared. "There! Good as new!"_

_Jamil pulled his hand back rubbing his fingers on his formerly injured palm. "You shouldn't have wasted your magic for something trivial.”_

_“But I want to do that.” Kalim grinned as he stepped back, hands behind his back as he smiled brightly. “You help me, so I help you.” His smile softened, staring at Jamil like he was the most precious thing in the world. “You must be tried after all those Magishift practices, right? This is at least what I can do.”_

“I keep thinking about that,” Jamil muttered, frowning as he thought about it deeply. “There was no way I would make blunders simply because of tiredness. But, while I was cooking, it felt as if I lost my awareness for a moment.”

Riddle frowned. “Like dizziness? Did you suddenly feel sleepy?”

He shook his head. “I faintly remember feeling the same sensation before. It’s probably due to someone’s _unique magic_.”

Kalim's eyes brightened, clapping his hand. “Oh! Is it similar to your _unique magic_ , Jamil?”

Jamil was glaring at him like a scolding mother. “Not a word about me, Kalim,” he warned. Kalim pouted but nodded. Jamil pulled back and sat down again. “In any case, the culprit probably used some kind of magic that makes one mimic the caster’s movements.”

“I see now~” Cater hummed. “That’s why the accidents totally didn’t look out of place except for the victim.”

“And it the feeling is only momentary, even the victim himself might not be able to distinguish between his own carelessness and being controlled by someone else,” Riddle added, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “When I fell down the stairs, it didn’t feel as if someone was controlling me either.”

“Wait, if that’s the case…” Cater eyes widened. “It’d be completely impossible to find the culprit, then!”

“Fugyaa!” The cat-demon squeaked. “What do we do now?”

Jonah was humming, tapping his chin, thinking like a detective. “Magic that can control people…? “

Riddle and Kalim turned to him, hearing his muttering. “Jonah?”

Jonah’s eye slowly widened. “Deluxe minced cutlet sandwich,” he whispered.

The cat-demon’s ears perked up at this. “Eh?”

Jonah turned to the cat. “Grim. Remember that day in the cafeteria.”

“Huh?” Grim folded his paws in front of his chest. “Well, the deluxe minced cutlet sandwi-” His eyes widened and screamed, making all of them except Jonah jumped up. “AH-!”

“What happened?!” Cater asked. “You all look surprised!”

Gim looked at them one by one, eyes shining with excitement. “I-I know the guy who has that kind of _unique magic_!”

Riddle’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

Grim nodded confidently. “The culprit’s Ruggie! The guy from Savanaclaw with the brown ears!”

“Let’s catch him and ask him directly,” Riddle suggested.

Cater immediately opened his smartphone, quickly looking at the list of magishift player until he found the name of Savanaclaw students. “Um… Ruggie Bucchi is in Class 2-B.”

All of them nodded. Jonah turned to the Scarabia students, giving them a brief nod. “Thank you very much for your cooperation.”

Kamil laughed, “No prob! I don’t get what’s happening, but good luck!”

Kalim gave them a wave as the gang ran out of the cafeteria. Kalim turned to Jamil. “I wonder what was that all about?” Jamil just shrugged, equally confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say for this chapter, except giving some ship-tease.  
> I finally decided to watch Scarabia Arc and let me just say... I'm sad now.


	53. Criminal Insight! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RUGGIE: "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat~ Otherwise we'd get along~"  
> HEARTSLABYUL + RAMSHACKLE GANG: "WRONG!"

_*BANG!*_

“Ruggie Bucchi! We have come for you!”

Riddle just wanted to smack himself on the forehead at Grim’s sudden shouting. Even Jonah let out a tired sigh, along with a nervous chuckle from Cater. _This cat really doesn't understand any manner, does he?_ But this was no time to address about Grim’s lack of subtlety. Scanning through the sea of confused students, he managed to found a boy with hyena ears who was running his hand down his face. He pushed Grim back and walked toward the boy until he stopped next to his table.

“Ruggie Bucchi,” Riddle stated, hearing the rest of the gang following behind him. “There’s something we would like to ask you. It's about the consecutive incidents regarding the injury of selected players.”

Ruggie tilted his head to the side playfully. “Oh…? That doesn’t sound like a friendly accusation.”

“Won’t you come with us for a bit~?” Cater said. Meanwhile, Jonah was glaring at Ruggie. The hyena-boy noticed this, in which he snickered.

“Alright, Alright. So please, don’t hurt me or anything…”

Riddle nodded. “Shall we?” Ruggie grinned and stood up from his seat, purposely bumping to Riddle and Cater just for fun and games. Riddle frowned as he walked ahead, following Ruggie out and he started to think. He knew Ruggie wouldn’t confess so easily and his _unique magic_ could be a disadvantage for them. But if he could seal it with _Off With Your Head_ first-

Riddle patted his pocket, but he felt nothing there. “Eh?” He looked at it in shock. “H-huh…? My magical pen’s not here…!”

“Oh~?” Ruggie looked like he was about to burst because of the excitement. He turned around, revealing the two magical pens with red-colored gems in his hands. "Looking for these?"

“No way?” Cater exclaimed. He patted his pocket on his blazer and pants, finding nothing. “Really!?”

Ruggie snickered, tossing-catching the pens in his hand. “You guys are spoiled rich kids through and through, huh~? You’re both so wide open! So vulnerable~”

“You sly pickpocket,” Jonah muttered.

“I'll take that as a compliment,” Bucchi smiled. He pocketed the Magical Pen in his blazer pocket and stepped back. “Welp. I’m gonna dash~!” Bucchi gave them a small wave while saying “Bye-bye~!” And then he took off.

“Senior Bucchi! Stop!” Before Riddle could stop him, Jonah had taken off along with Grim, chasing Bucchi down the hall. _Dammit! That kid shouldn’t be running by now. This isn't going according to the plan!_ Riddle could felt his usual anger rising again.

“Prefect!” Riddle and Cater turned toward the voice. Ace and Deuce suddenly appeared, running toward him. They had finished their job of feeding the flamingo apparently.

“We heard screaming,” Ace said once he and Deuce stopped in front of their seniors. “What’s going on?”

Riddle, with his face already fully red, turned toward the two first-years and shouted in front of their face in a commanding tone. “The culprit behind the consecutive accidents and the guy who stole our magical pens ran away! Jonah is chasing him right now! Go and capture Ruggie Bucchi right now!”

“Eh!?” Deuce eyes widened.

“The captain too?! Well, let’s go, Deuce!” Without any further thought, Ace grabbed Deuce’s hand and they started running down the hall. They were way faster than Riddle and Cater, so the red-haired prefect hoped they catch that thief **_or else_**!

* * *

"Hey, you! Stop!"

Ruggie skidded to a stop at the topmost stairs, looking back at the first-years that were chasing him.

"Eh," Ruggie pretended to consider it, "Maybe next time."

Then he leaped to sit on the railing of the stairs as he slid down. He was sure his ass skin is red by now, but he managed to land on the lower floor with ease, so that was a win for him.

The first-years didn't dare to slide down the railing, but the blunette raised his Magical Pen, aiming at him. " ** _[Come forth]_** , **_[cauldron]_**!"

"Whoa!" Ruggie rolled out of the way, just in time when a cauldron suddenly dropped in the spot he previously stood.

"Damn it, Deuce! How could you miss that?!"

"Sorry! He was quick!"

“Don’t just stand there! After him!”

Ruggie grinned. "You got that one right!" Ruggie took off again, leaving the first-years who decided to ran down the stairs, took off down the hallway. He ducked and weaved, narrowly avoiding crowds. The first-years clearly having trouble catching him. He had done this many times back in his hometown, ducking the alleyways, jumping from roof to roof, and finding secret passageways. A chase in the academy was way too easy.

Ruggie jumped to the railing without fear of falling off. Looking behind him, the first-years eyes widened. Ruggie gave them one last grin, before jumping down the railing, landing on the ground without any injury. He looked up, giving his two chasers a two-fingers salute. "Let's play again next time~" he giggled before walking away calmly, dropping the magical pens in the bush.

* * *

“Ah! There they are!” Jonah picked up the two abandoned magical pens from the bushes. He stood up again and looked at his two friends. All of them were out of breath, the rush of adrenaline had finally disappeared.

“Damn… It…” Ace heaved, hands on his hips and fingers pressing his aching stomach. “What’s with this guy?! He’s so hard to catch!”

Deuce was also panting with his hands on his knees. “He’s not only a fast runner, but his ability to jump from high places is no joke either…!”

Grim was already laying on the ground. “Ugh… Even I can’t catch up to him…”

Deuce turned his head to Jonah. “How… How can we be sure that he caused all of those accidents?”

Jonah sighed, pocketing the magical pens. “We don’t have strong evidence just yet. This is purely based on assumption.”

Ace groaned, messing up his hair. “ARGH! What are we going to do?! The prefect will have our head!”

“If you're stuck, why are you still playing detectives?”

The boys turned toward the voice and approaching footsteps. “Wha—You should’ve helped instead of just watching!” Ace shouted, pointing at the half-wolf accusingly. “Your dorm upperclassman's a total bad guy, y’know?”

“Why are you so desperate to try and help others?” Howl asked again. “I understand that you’d want to avenge your hurt friends, but…”

“Who said this is our idea?”

“Eh?”

Even Ace and Deuce turned toward him. Jonah walked up to Howl. “This is all Senior Riddle’s idea, so of course we will do it.”

Howl frowned. “So, you’re just following orders?”

Jonah sighed, smiling softly. “It’s more complicated, actually,” he muttered, before continuing in a clearer voice. “At least from what I’ve seen for the last two months, this is a great leap for him. Can you believe that he was once called the ‘Crimson Tyrant’? Not only had he tone down his anger and punishment, but he now he’s more caring and willing to help his friends!” He raised his arms, grinning so wide. “He has friends now! Isn’t that great?” He dropped his arms again, still smiling. “That’s why I want to help him. I will be with him for every little step he takes.” He paused for a moment, feeling the winds blowing his hair softly. He sighed. “I must’ve sounded so childish, huh?”

Howl was silent, staring him instantly. Jonah didn’t know what he was thinking, but he looked so serious. In the end, he sighed. “You. Duel with me.”

“EH?”

“Hah?! Why that all of a sudden?” Ace stepped up, slightly in front of Jonah.

“I know what’s going on,” Howl said, slowly getting in a punching stance. “If you beat me, I will tell you what you need.”

“Ugh…” Ace pulled Jonah back, not wanting the captain to get involved consider his heavy crash yesterday. “I don’t really like sweating and all that, dude.”

But Deuce was smiling, cracking his knuckles. “I don’t really mind. It’s an easy negotiation!”

Ace groaned again. “Great. He’s in his delinquent mode.”

Jonah and Grim turned to Ace. “What do you mean?” Grim asked.

Ace just sighed. “Just watch.”

Jonah turned to the two students ready to fight. He sighed. _Welp. There's no stopping them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I haven't update that much guys. I'm currently taking an online course since Monday until next Friday and homework are catching up to me. So, forgive me if I update way slower than usual.  
> According to my draft, if I don't make some last minutes charges. We only have eight more chapters until we finish Leona's Canon Arc (part 1) before moving on to the filler arc/Leona's Arc part 2. I hope that we can at least fill that finish that eight chapters before the end of July.  
> Wish me luck!


	54. Bare-Fisted Discussion! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You think your opponent is the captain, but it is me, DEUCE!”  
> – Deuce Spade in the first five minutes of this chapter

The fight had been going for minutes now and none of the boys were backing down just yet. Ace, Jonah, and Grim, unlike Deuce, were tired from standing, so they decided to watch them from under the shades of a tree. They were on the verge of sleeping from all the chase, and Ace was worried about his two friends. He didn’t know how well Jonah was right now. There was no way you could heal that fast after falling from the sky, even with magic. And Deuce, well…

“OOOORRAAAAAAAA!” Deuce ran toward Jack, fist raised, and was aiming for the head. But Jack managed to duck in the last few seconds.

“Take this!” Jack elbowed Deuce straight in the nose, sending him back a few steps. The hit was too hard, whether it was intentional or not, which caused Deuce's nose to bleed. But the blunette didn’t give up. He ran toward Jack with a scream. He threw his fist again, but Jack blocked it with both his fists in an ‘x’. Not wasting any second, Jack raised his knee, slamming it to Deuce's face.

But Deuce quickly regained his balance to Jack’s surprise. Deuce grabbed Jack's arms, holding him still and he headbutted the wolf-boy straight to the nose, causing Jack’s nose to bleed as well. Jack's eyes widened, and taking the few second advantages, Deuce threw punches to Jack’s face repeatedly, not giving Jack a chance to strike back.

“EAT THIS!” Deuce screamed, throwing the last uppercut punch, sending Jack backward and to the ground.

“ALRIGHT!” Ace stood up, fist raised in excitement. “You did it, Mama Boy!”

Deuce's feral face quickly turned normal, and now, he was blushing in embarrassment. “Don’t call me that!” he shouted, turning toward Ace.

Jack groaned as he slowly stood up. “You…” he panted, hands on his knees. “You put up a pretty decent fight…”

Deuce grinned. “You, too…” He grinned, wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeves. “Not bad at all…”

Jonah just sighed. But he was smiling, happy that they had somewhat calmed down. He got up, dusting his pants, letting Grim climbed to his shoulder, and walked toward the boys along with Ace. He looked at Jack. “So, what’s your decision now?”

Jack sighed. “Yes… Now that we’ve settled this, I’ll tell you everything that I know.”

Ace looked at him strangely “What exactly did we settle, man…?”

Jack looked down. “The conflict that’s been raging in my heart. Since I’m practically betraying my own dorm. But I can’t bear it anymore!” His fists trembled as he lifted his head, looking straight at them. “The real essence of a fight is winning by pure effort no matter how tough it gets! I tried to test how far I could go in our fight, too. Choosing to win by lowly methods makes me want to puke! That defeats the purpose of a competition! I wanted to reach the top by winning using my own power!”

“Ah, this guy’s the totally annoying type,” Ace groaned.

Deuce eyes were twinkling and he raised his fists. “I get it! I totally understand that feeling!”

Grim patted Jonah in the head, making the eye-patch boy turned to him. “He looks like a completely different person. Like you.”

“What do you mean like me?” Jonah whispered back with an eyebrow raised at him.

“You changed when you’re in your ‘captain mode’. Less pathetic.”

“You called me pathetic…” Jonah sighed. “But, still. Can’t imagine that Deuce is a violent type of guy. Though…” He tapped his chin. “I think I’ve seen the sign way back at the Dwarfs’ Mine.”

“Uh-huh. He was pretty scary when he shouted at Ace.” Grim nodded in agreement and Jonah was surprised the cat actually remember that. The can then sighed. “Now we have two totally annoying guys…” To which Jonah just chuckled.

He walked toward Jack, smiling at him and he offered his hand. “I hope you can cooperate with us.”

Jack blinked at him before frowning. “Wait. But I have no plans on joining you.”

Grim squeaked. “Fugyaa! How can you say that after that long speech?”

Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’ll handle my own dorm’s problems by myself.”

“On the contrary, Jack Howl,” Jonah said without dropping his hand. “You haven’t fulfilled the end of our bargain.”

“Huh?”

The corner of his lips curled up as his eye shone a foreign twinkle. “Technically, you haven’t told us anything. Only I and Prefect Riddle Rosehearts who can decide whether your pieces of information are useful or not. So, I suggest you don’t walk away just yet. Things might come in our favor if you join us. The lone wolf will only be hunted by the crowd, after all.”

All of them were silent, staring at the captain in disbelieve. For Ace, Deuce, and Grim, they had seen this side of Jonah before, but only for a glimpse, just like Deuce’s bad-boy side, back when he led them out from Riddle’s Unbirthday Party. But given the different circumstances, it still came out as a surprise.

“Okay. Now you’re a completely different person,” Grim mumbled, but it didn’t bother Jonah who kept staring at Jack with that twinkle in his eye.

Deuce folded his arm in front of his chest. “Your chances of winning against a whole dorm are indeed very slim,” he added and Ace nodded in agreements.

Jonah’s smile became wider. “So, what do you say?”

In the end, after a brief silence, Jack sighed. “…Very well,” he said, stepping forward toward Jonah. “I’ll tell you what you need and listen to what you have to say. But, if I don’t like it, I’ll do something about it on my own.”

Age groaned once again. “This guy’s really annoying…”

Jonah let out a chuckle. “Fair enough.”

Jack nodded and grasped Jonah’s stretched-out hand, giving it a firm shake. “Glad to have you onboard, Mister Howl,” the captain said.

“I'm really pleased to hear that, but unfortunately we have to cut this short.”

Jonah and Jack dropped their hands as all of them turned toward the voice and the approaching footsteps. “Prefect Rosehearts. Senior Diamond,” Deuce greeted them.

Riddle nodded at him as a greeting and turned to look at each of his juniors one by one. “The first-period bell is about to ring and I hope none of you have any plans to skip class.”

“Man…” Ace sighed. “Do we have to do that? I’m tired already…”

Riddle didn’t even bother to glare at him. He focused on the blunette and wolf-boy. “Deuce, Jack. Go to the infirmary first. The teacher wouldn’t appreciate teaching students with a bloody nose.” Deuce and Jack nodded, then Riddle turned to the eye-patch boy. “Jonah, do you need a check-up?”

Jonah patted himself in various spots on his body, just to make sure. In the end, he shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think I’m fine.”

“Good.” He said, sighing in relief. “Oh, and another thing. I will overlook your petty fight even though it goes against the school’s ‘personal agenda’ rule because it gave us valuable information, but…” His bangs formed a shadow over his eyes as a dangerous glint twinkled in those grey orbs. “The next time you do it, it’s off with your heads. Am I understood?”

The Heartslabyul and Ramshackle's first years shivered. “Yes, we’re so sorry…” they said in unison.

Jack rubbed behind his neck in embarrassment “…Yes, Sir…”

Riddle nodded in satisfaction once again. “Very good. Then, go to class. Don’t be late.”

Riddle turned around and walked back toward the building. Cater grinned at them. “Let’s meet again later, okay?” He then turned to follow Riddle.

Jack glanced toward the Heartslabyul first years. “I thought he was a weakling, but your dorm’s Prefect is pretty scary…”

Ace groaned. “He is! He looks like a helpless little hedgehog, but he’s a super-strong porcupine…! It’s better to listen to what he says.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An obvious Jojo reference here...  
> Another short chapter, but I hope I can make the continuation of this today as a double update. I'm not sure though, but I'll try since the next chapter is mostly exposition.


	55. Truth of the Prosecution! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next Captain’s Hint: Jack Howl

The gang gathered once again during lunch hour, this time in the cafeteria, all with their food and drink of the day. Though none of them focused on their food. Instead, all of their focus went straight to Jack Howl who was ready to expose everything.

“Senior Ruggie's _unique magic_ is something that makes people mimic whatever he’s doing,” the wolf-boy stated. “He controlled the person he wanted to control and made it look like the accident was only because they were being careless.”

Jonah hummed as he nodded. “So that’s how he managed to trade Grim’s bread for his without looking suspicious back at the cafeteria.”

Grim was pouting as he took a big bite from his sandwich. “How dare he did that to me?! I get pissed off when I hear that incident! Grudges over food are to be feared, yanno!”

“But, wait…” Deuce perked up. “Wouldn’t it be suspicious if he started pretending as he fell down the stairs near the target?”

“It’s not like Senior Ruggie was acting alone during all those incidents,” Howl answered. “The other guys from Savanaclaw are probably in on it, too.”

“Wha–!?” Grim eyes widened, along with the rest. “The others too?!”

Howl solemnly nodded. “If they’re around, he won’t stand out too much even if he did his unique magic. That’s why the other students acted as Senior Ruggie’s wall so he wouldn’t be seen.”

“I see.” Riddle was clutching his cup of milk tea a bit too hard. “So this is a conspiracy cause by the whole Savanaclaw.”

“I guess I can see why they did that,” Cater sighed. “Knowing that the Magical Shift Tournament’s really beneficial to your future if you win.”

Howl growled at that. Cater immediately raised hin hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry~ Just kidding!”

Howl huffed, looking at the empty can of cola. “Hmph! The present matters more than the future! If you can’t show what you can do now, your future doesn’t matter! The one I really can’t stand is our prefect, Leona Kingscholar!”

Jonah nearly dropped his spoon. _He should’ve seen this._ There was no way Senior Bucchi is planning all of these. Just like that the hyena in his vision. All of them praised and followed the rules and orders of the lion. _It was so obvious. But then…_

_… Does that mean those visions somehow gave the cryptic version of the future?_

_No. That couldn’t be it. After all, during Riddle’s vision, those were way off from the actual what happened. So, what the heck with those animal visions?_

“Jonah?”

“Huh?” Jonah looked up. Riddle was looking at him worriedly. “Yes?”

He frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jonah gave him a small smile. “I’m okay. Just snoozed out a bit.” He then sighed and glanced toward Howl. “Though, why would Senior Kingscholar go through all of this? He’s quite strong in magic.”

Howl crushed the soda can in his hand. “Right?! He’s so powerful, but why doesn’t he use it!? I hate those kinds of people the most!” He slowed down his breathing, still looking at the table, though there was that expression on his face. Not the regret expression he had seen on Senior Trey’s face. But something else…

“The plays that Senior Leona did in the tournament three years ago were really amazing. That’s why I entered this school… I got into Savanaclaw and I thought that I would be able to draw out his full potential in a game, but…”

“Hey, Deuce.” Ace leaned toward Deuce, whispering to him. “I only keep hearing complaints about their Prefect, but…”

Deuce nodded. “He still respects him…”

“The incidents so far are like child’s play to them,” Howl continued. “I know that they’re still after something bigger.”

“Something bigger?” asked Deuce.

Howl nodded. “It’s Diasomnia’s Prefect, Malleus Draconia.”

Riddle and Jonah’s eyes widened. _Malleus Draconia? That lion-boy was targeting him all along? Was it because of the headmaster's proposal back then? Had he not get over with it?_

“He’s got monstrous power and brought two consecutive victories for Diasomnia,” Howl continued. “Thanks to him, Savanaclaw keeps getting eliminated in the first round. I bet that my seniors all have a grudge against him.”

“Losing at the first round without scoring points…” Deuce muttered. “As previous top-placers, that must have been frustrating…”

“Yeah,” the wolf-boy nodded. “They stopped being the center of attention ever since then. They’re trying to gain that back…” He gritted his teeth. “But they’re using such cowardly means…!”

“So you’re thinking that they might do something to Diasomnia on the day of the tournament, huh?” Ace suggested.

Howl looked up toward them again, eyes shining with determination. “Yeah, that’s why I want to break their plan!”

Cater turned to Riddle. “What do you think, Riddle?”

Riddle rested his elbow on the table and intertwined his fingers. “To think that they would trample on such a traditional event. How unforgivable,” he said. “We can’t apprehend Ruggie right now because we're lacking in proofs.”

Jonah nodded. “We’re dealing with the sharp-witted Senior Kingscholar. I doubt that we’ll get them to confess smoothly.”

Ace frowned as he looked between the two of them. “In other words, we have no choice but to catch them in the act?”

Riddle and Jonah exchanged a glance. It appeared that they had the same idea. “We’re going to need a plan,” said Riddle.

Jonah nodded. “Right. But, first thing first.” Jonah turned to Howl again. “I don’t know how Savanaclaw will react to this betrayal, Howl, so it wouldn’t be safe for you to go back there.”

Howl frowned. “I can take care of myself.”

Jonah chuckled. “I know that. But none of us can guarantee that you can still walk tomorrow.” He sipped his orange juice. “If you want to stay safe, at least for tonight.” The corner of his lips curled up. “I purpose a sleepover.”

Howl blinked. “… A… sleepover?”

“I collect wayward children, you see?” Ignoring the noises coming from the offended Ace and Deuce, Jonah continued. “In fact, we can have a meeting to discuss this plan there too.” He glanced at Riddle. “What do you say, Senior Riddle?”

Riddle nodded. “I agree with Jonah. Just to be safe.”

Howl sighed. “Alright. I’ll follow your plan.”

“Excellent, Mister Howl.” Jonah giggled. “Oh, and I hope you know how to play UNO.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wha- Wha- Wha- WHAT?! A DOUBLE UPDATE?! About time!  
> Yep! A double update today! Even I was surprised!  
> I keep on changing my episode list, so I can't be sure how many chapters we have left. So, we shall see~


	56. Stubborn Entry! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is filled with conversation and lacks with an actual UNO.

“What in the Magic Mirror's sake are those?!”

Jonah and Cater turned toward the sound in shock. They were in Mr. S’s Mystery Shop, looking for some clothes for Jonah’s Ramshackle Dorm Uniform, which he brought up the matter when talking about Cater’s plan to sneak into Savanaclaw with Jack’s outfit and fake animal ear and tail to grab some of Jack’s clothes for tomorrow. While Grim, Ace, Deuce, and Jack prepared for their sleepover and Riddle went back to do something with Trey, Cater and Jonah went to find some clothes that suit his theme.

“Oh, Vil!”

“Senior Schoenheit?”

The Pomefiore Prefect walked toward them, stepping behind Jonah to take off the bandana around his head, ignoring the protesting noise from the smaller boy. “You’re not thinking on buying that, you potato?!” he asked, picking up the tip of the purple cape is disgust. “That bright purple cloak and yellow scarf don’t match. Plus it doesn’t suit your skin tone.”

Jonah stared at him weirdly. _Is this normal for him?_ He glanced at Cater who only shrugged his shoulder. _Just listen to him. It might be useful later._ “Okay…” he muttered. He then reached for a purple hat with a white feather on it. “Then what about this?” he asked, putting the hat on his head. But it slid down and covered his eye.

He heard Schoenheit clicked his tongue. “That hat is too big for you,” he said, picking up the hat from his head. “What are you buying anyway?”

“Some-sort-of Dorm Uniform,” Jonah sighed, taking off the bright purple cape that, he admitted, sort of hurt his eyes. “I kinda want one for Grim and me since Ramshackle doesn’t have one.”

“Hmm…” Schoenheit leaned down, rubbing his chin as he looked Jonah from top to down. Jonah could see the gear started to turn inside Schoenheit’s head. The senior leaned back, looking at the shelves and hung-up clothes. “Let’s see…”

“Uh… Senior Schoenheit?”

Cater chuckled, making Jonah turn toward him. “Don’t worry about him. He’s an expert in this. Just trust him.” Jonah glanced at Schoenheit for a while, still unsure, but Cater gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. “Well, I better go and pick up the goods now. Meet you at the Hall of Mirror.”

In the end, Jonah sighed. “Okay then…” Cater gave him a wink and walked out, paying for his fake animal ears and tail. Jonah walked toward the Pomefiore Prefect who had already piles of clothes in his hand. “Senior Schoenheit?”

Schoenheit turned toward him. “Here,” he said, shoving the clothes into Jonah’s hands. “Try these on.”

Jonah frowned. “Do I have to?”

Schoenheit pushed (a bit forceful) him into the dressing room. “Just do it. You’ll thank me later.”

Jonah sighed. _Well… It looked like he didn’t have a way to escape this. Might as well do as he said._

A few minutes later, because of those damn ribbons, Jonah pushed the curtain of the dressing room and walked out. Schoenheit’s violet eyes twinkled. The outfit consisted of a long-sleeved brown tunic-top that shows his chest, black shorts, white sock, and brown boots. He also has some reddish-brown ribbon around his wrists, neck, and right thigh.

“Just as I thought,” he said, giving him an impressed nod. “It’s perfect for you.” He hummed again. “Though, something is missing.” Glancing around, he quickly caught on something. “Ah!” He walked toward the shelf of hats and picked up a black pirate captain hat. “Here it is.” He put the hat on Jonah’s head, earning a small squeak from the boy, and making sure he didn’t ruin the ponytail.

“And one more thing.” He took out his Magical Pen and pointed toward the bucket filled with swords. “ ** _[Accio]_** , **_[silver cutclass]_**!” A sword, with its matching black-and-red belt, suddenly came flying toward him. Jonah ducked his head, but Schoenheit managed to catch it with ease. “Here. Let me-” He knelt and wore it around Jonah’s hips. Giving a satisfying nod and pat, Schoenheit stood up and turned Jonah around to face the mirror. “There. Now, you look more like a pirate captain than you’ve ever been.”

Jonah looked at himself in the mirror. _Like… Wow._ He looked like a completely different person. Reaching for the hilt of the cutlass and a hand on his pirate hat. Jonah still couldn’t believe that the boy in front of him was him. Gone was the ordinary Night Raven College student. In his place, stood a confident pirate captain who is ready to sail the seven seas.

“I…” Jonah couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Senior Schoenheit.”

“You are very welcome,” Schoenheit said proudly. “And the best part. Those are very cheap for a commoner’s standard.”

Jonah chuckled. “Should I feel insulted?” He turned his head toward him. “Though why are you helping me?”

“After watching your horrible taste of clothing? Potato, you should know that I won’t let that happen on my watch. You’re going to wear that tomorrow’s magishift, right? It's mandatory for non-playing students to wear their door uniform, after all.”

Jonah nodded. “Yeah.”

Schoenheit reached for his blazer’s pocket and took out a white bottle. He reached for Jonah’s hand and gave him the bottle. “Don’t forget to wear sunscreen too.”

Jonah stared at the bottle in his hand. “Thanks… I guess.” He looked up again. “But, again, why?”

Schoenheit sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uncle Dire mentioned that I should look out for you if I can.” He lowered his hand, trying his best to smile. “We haven’t talked to each other yet, even during Prefect Meeting, so might as well make the first move.”

Jonah tilted his head. “That’s great… I think.”

Schoenheit let out a small chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, potato.” With that he walked away, paying for the extra sunscreen and walked out the door.

“Me too… I guess,” Jonah muttered. Once again he looked at himself in the mirror. He should find something similar for Grim too. Looking through the shelf, he perked up when he remembered something Schoenheit just said.

_Wait. Does he know this ‘Uncle Dire’ is?_

* * *

“So, let me repeat your request.” Azul rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and intertwined his fingers as he leaned back, watching the Savanaclaw Prefect who was sitting in front of him. “You need a magic amplifier to strengthen your magic for a small amount of time? In exchange, you’ll give me anything I desire for Mostro Lounge?”

The corner of Leona’s lips curled up. “Pretty much. I have enough madols to pay for the whole bill.”

Azul nodded, glancing at Jade and Floyd on each of his sides. Both of them have those stoic expressions on their face, unlike the creepy smile they used to wear all the time. “Here’s a thing.” He leaned forward. “I don’t need anything.” He rolled his eyes upward as if he just thought about something before returning to Leona. “Well, one thing.”

“What?”

“Some extra hands.” He sighed as he closed his eyes. “You see, I heard that one of my employees was injured. So, being a kind boss I am, I can’t let him work until I’m one hundred percent sure that he’s fit once again.” Slowly he opened his eyes, a mischievous glint shining from those silver-blue orbs. “So, how about you take his place as the chef until he’s feeling?”

Leona frowned. His tail was swishing from side-to-side. “And who is this employee you are talking about?”

Azul’s lips curled up. “I’m sure you know him very well.”

Leona kept on frowning as he thought. Then his eyes widened slightly. _Oh, he figured it out._ “Argentum, isn’t it?” he asked with a growl when he spat out the name.

“Correct.” Azul reached for his cane. “I’ve heard about his nasty fall. Surely you feel some guilt in there?” Tapping the hilt of the cane to the table, a golden paper appeared with their deal written on it. Azul spun his cane once and it turned into a white feather. He offered the feather to Leona who was growling at him, which made Azul smile wickedly. “Take this as an atonement.”

Leona stood up from his seat, his chair created a loud screech from the friction with the floor. “Forget it.” Leona shoved his hands to his pants pocket and turned around.

“Oh, dear. Leaving so soon?” Azul commented. “That potion needs more than a day to make. I have one that is done. Are you sure you want to step away?”

Leona didn’t answer him, he opened the door and slammed it close one he walked out. “Oh dear” Azul sighed. “An unsatisfied customer.”

“Can I squeeze him, Azul?” Floyd leaned forward. “He hurt Baby Seal~”

Azul shook his head. “As much as I want to, we don’t know what he’s planning. But keep him in mind.” He picked up the golden dear and ripped it into pieces before throwing it into the trashcan next to his desk. He picked up the other documents on the table. “So, about Kalim’s parade idea…”

* * *

Leone stepped out of the Octavinelle Mirror as magic dried up his clothes and hair. He was pissed, to be honest. That captain was meddling again, even after he had beat him down. Had he known that that brat has too many connections already, he could’ve to get rid of him since that flight accident.

_Speak the devil…_

The brat smiled as someone stepped out of the Savanaclaw mirror. _Wait a minute. Wasn’t that one of the Heartlabyul minions? What was he doing there with that duffle bag?_ They had a small conversation before the Heartlabyul stepped in the Heartslabyul Mirror.

Argentum sighed and glanced toward him. _So, he noticed._ “Senior Kingscholar.”

“Ramshackle Brat.”

“What were you doing at Octavinelle?”

“I can ask you the same thing.” Leona squinted his eyes. “Are you stealing from my dorm?”

Argentum shrugged. “Nope. Just picking up stuff for a sleepover.”

The corner of Leona’s lips curled up. “Heh. I’m guessing the first-year pup is hiding behind your back?”

That made Argentum frowned. “Jack Howl is staying with me. He’s under my protection for this night until tomorrow’s magishift. In conclusion, you can’t touch him or me.”

“You think you can put on a fight after losing to me like that?”

Argentum raised an eyebrow. “You don’t feel guilty, do you?”

“It’s not my fault you’re bad at flying.”

“Perhaps. Though, it just occurred to me.” Argentum tapped his chin as his left hand propped his right elbow. “That power of yours, it was nearly similar to that sudden sandstorm during that flying lesson.” He squinted his eye. “Strange, isn’t it?”

Leona huffed. “What sandstorm are you talking about?”

Argentum frowned. “Don’t play dumb, Senior Kingscholar. That doesn’t suit you.”

Leona snickered. “Heh. I’m surprised that the brain of yours is still working.”

“Were you aiming at Senior Riddle? Or was it me that you were targeting?” Argentum lowered his hands.

“That was a strong accusation,” Leona said. “But didn’t Ruggie also try to make him get into that accident?”

“Senior Trey saved him.”

Leona clicked his tongue. “Cih, I knew. That Red Queen has his cards tied around his pinky. I wonder if you also have control over your so-called crewmates.”

There was a dangerous glint on Argentum’s eye. “You touch any of them, I’ll personally kill you.”

“Does ‘them’ also include that first-year pup?”

“We’re not afraid of you.”

“I have an army.”

“We have Senior Riddle.”

 _Such a bold declaration. Did he really think Leona would cower in fear of hearing that redhaired brat name?_ Looking at the boy from the top of his head to the end of his shoes, he scoffed. “Only because you have a silver sword that doesn’t make you a hero, herbivore. We are magicians. We don’t do sword dancing.”

“I’m not trying to be a hero.” Leona saw Argentum reached up to grip the hilt of the sword on his belt. “I’m just doing what I think is right.” This time, Argentum smirked. “Surely you know that, right?”

“Yeah. That heart of yours will be your downfall.” Leona rolled his eyes. “There’s no way someone with that mental survives in this world.”

“I’ll take my gamble. Makes it interesting, don’t you think?”

Leona chuckled. “You have guts, brat.” He stepped forward so that their distance between their faces was only a few centimeters away. Both of them had those challenging smirk on their face. “I’ll make sure I’ll personally destroy you.”

“Try your best, Your Majesty. We’ll meet again on the battlefield.”

Argentum stepped back before turning around, walking toward the exit. But then he stopped. “And one more thing.” He turned around one last time. Putting a hand to his chest and the other one stretched out to the side, he gave him a mocking bow and spoke a sentence that made Leona’s blood boil.

“Long live the king…”

_Heh. That brat…_

_If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get._

* * *

“Yes!” Ace pumped up his fist to the air. “That’s the last card! I win!”

Deuce, who was laying on his bed, slammed his face to his pillow. “I give up! I give up!”

Grim threw his cards into the air, disqualifying himself from the game. “How?! How can you keep getting those +2 and wild-cards?! I swear you hog them all!”

Ace grinned. “Ah well, turmoil is associated with such a lucky win, you know. As for me, I beat you all!” He was laughing out loud and Grim looked like he was about to tear him to shred.

Jack was sighed. They had been playing UNO for a long time while waiting for Jonah, along with Senior Riddle and Cater, to come back. Once that cat-demon had opened the door, all of them immediately ran toward different directions, leaving Jack at the entrance. They went back and forth until they had prepared beds, pillows, and blankets. They had also changed to their pajamas. It was as if they had done this more than once. And then they just straight-up play UNO. And Ace was winning almost every round.

“Now then,” Ace said proudly. “Since I win again, I demand that tonight’s dinner is-!”

“Wait a minute!” Jack grabbed Ace’s arm. “Just now, your arm moved kinda weirdly.”

Ace clicked his tongue. “Huh? It’s all in your head…” He tried to pull his arm back, but Jack was holding it tight. “H-hey, you’re going to break my arm if- A, AAH!”

Between the struggles, something just fell of Ace baggy pajama’s sleeve. In fact, not just one, but many things made out of paper. Deuce picked on of the paper and his eyes widened. “This is a +4 card!”

“And why did they fall out of the sleeves of your pajamas?” Jack frowned at him.

The ginger-head gave them a weak chuckle. “Ah, yeah, how could that have happened-?”

Grim was fuming. “You cheated, chicken butt! How can you cheat in UNO?!”

Deuce stood up from his bed, pointing his finger at Ace. “GET HIM!”

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” Ace took off running, with Grim and Deuce chasing him.

Jack just sighed at the chase. They were like children. But he could see how they weren’t angry at all, only playful expression on their faces.

_Maybe hanging out with them wasn’t such a bad idea after all…_

They didn’t stop when the other three came. It took only Senior Riddle threatening to cut off their head (which was still scary) and Jonah mentioning something about ‘no dinner’ that finally stopped the chase.

* * *

“Oi! Leona! You’re back!” Ruggie was waving his hand above his head with his signature grin on his face when Leona entered the Savanaclaw lounge. “How was the deal with Azul?”

“I cut it off.”

“Eh?”

Leona growled. “That damn eye-patch brat has somehow made his way to that Octo Punk’s circle.” He sighed. “We need to changes the plan if we still want to destroy Diasomnia.”

Ruggie snickered. “Ah~ I can’t wait for the tournament already~” He spun around to the middle of the lounge where everyone was showing off their fangs. “Malleus Draconia all beat up and kneeling in front of Leona~! Ah, the world will surely admire us now~ Someone might even scout a hyena like me~”

“The pro-leagues might even fight over us!” One of the Savanaclaw members yelled, followed by the agreeing noises from his mates.

Leona huffed. “You’re all very optimistic considering nothing’s happened yet.”

“Leona’s popularity will skyrocket, too!”

“The people from Afterglow Savannah will definitely think you should be king now.”

Leona watched the cheering herbivores. _They will never understand it. Effort and family lineage are two completely different things. They should’ve known by now that not everything would be solved even if they reach the top._

But let them cheer for now. _Before reality sinks in…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This filler chapter turned out to be longer than I anticipated.  
> If you guys want to see Jonah's Dorm Uniform, you can check it out here. I made it with picrew: https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/post/619047510252683264/currently-writing-for-todays-update-and-i-got  
> Anyone here disappointed because of the lack of UNO game? I am very sorry. I wasn’t planning to write another fluff UNO competition in the first place.  
> The next chapter is the Magishift Competition day. Do you think I can write a double update tomorrow? Eh. We’ll see…


	57. Beginning of the Rebellion! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Behold Leona’s plan came into play from the perspective of an outsider.

The sun just raised, but some children were still asleep. Ace and Grim were still snoring, while Deuce tossed his bed. Jack’s bed was empty but Jonah guessed that he was going to the bedroom. Jonah himself was awake. He covered himself with his blanket over his head. He was staring at the golden orb in his lap. It was glowing just like usual. Jonah pressed his finger on the orb, twisting and turning until it opened and green light filled under his little tent.

The green light surrounded him, changing everywhere into a some-sort of cave. In the corner, he saw the familiar lion with a black mane. Not far from him, a bird with a red bill, looking so miserable, was trapped under the ribs of an animal.

_“Hey, Boss!”_

The lion growled as he turned toward the mouth of the cave.

_“Oh… What is it this time?”_

Three hyenas entered the cave, looking grumpy and tired.

_“We got a bone to pick with you.”_

_“Scar, there's no food, no water.”_

_“Yeah, it's dinner time, and we ain't got no stinkin’ entrees.”_

The lion rolled his eyes. He rolled his paws and pointed at the bird.

_“Oh… eat Zazu.”_

The bird gasped and pressed his back against the wall, trying his best to disappear from hyenas’ hungry eyes.

_“Oh, you wouldn't want me. I'd be so tough and- eewwgh!”_

One of the hyenas whined.

_“I thought things were bad under Mufasa...”_

The lion turned back to the hyena, anger flared in his eyes.

_“Is that so? GET OUT!”_

The hyena ran away, snickering. The light from outside was shining a bit too much that Jonah needed to cover his eyes. When the light dimmed, he found himself back in his small tent. Jonah stared at the orb. _What does this mean? The lion just… Not taking his job seriously… What happened to the big speech about becoming king and feeding all those hyenas?_

The front door opened and the boy quickly hid the orb under the pillow. “Are you awake?”

Jonah pulled his blanket off this head. He was Jack standing there in his gym uniform. “Where did you go?”

“Morning jog,” Jack answered. He looked at the lounge. Cards were still scattered around the beds, along with empty plates. The wolf-boy sighed when he watched the others who were still asleep. “Should we wake them up?”

Jonah chuckled and stood up. “You do that. I’ll make some breakfast for us.”

* * *

The day of the Night Raven College Interdorm Magishift Tournament had finally arrived. The street was filled with many vendors and various clubs showing their specialties. The laughter of children and excited chatter from the young adult filled the air. In between the festivities, a teen ran in between them, before turning around and waved his hand above his head shouting, “Move your tiny legs, slowpokes!”

The teen had curly red hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. He wore a dark teal tunic with golden lining, brown belt with light blue buttons, and a red checkered sarong tied on the side, black pants with lacing at the ankle and brown boots. He also wore a golden crown on her head and a black cape that was clipped around his neck.

“Coming, coming!”

Not far from him, three teens walked toward him. One of them ran toward him first. He had tanned skin with reddish-brown eyes and brown wavy hair. He was wearing a white turban with what appears to resemble neck shade coming down on opposite sides complete with a ruby gem and purple feather, gold ring earing, white and gold undergarments, and a matching top, with a cape flowing down just below his calves, and golden brown shoes with swirled tips.

“Geez. You’re going to fast!” said the turban-wearing boy.

The boy in the tunic frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “We need to find a good spot, Ali. If not, what’s the point?”

“Moray, they've already prepared a seat for us. No need to hurry.”

The other two boys finally caught up to them. The one who said that had fair skin, short and slightly puffy red hair, and blue eyes. He wore a white, long-sleeved collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, teal blue trousers with a red sash, white gloves, and black boots. His shirt collar is open to the point that it reveals his clavicles, along with a red scarf around his neck and navy blue jacket with golden buttons hung over his shoulder. He also wore a golden crown on his head.

The other one, with an annoyed look on his face, was a bit shorter. He had dual-color hair, with spiky violet bangs and messy dark blue on the back, along with a dark blue ahoge. His skin was dark and his eyes were bright blue. He wore an unzipped short-sleeved white hooded jacket with gray buttons and a gray checkered pattern at the hem. Underneath, he wore a black shirt with a V-neck. He also wore dark brown cropped trousers that were hemmed with the same checkered pattern as the jacket, and black high-top boots.

“It’s not about the seat, Rielle!” shouted the boy in the tunic, or Moray. His blue eyes twinkled in excitement. “It’s the experience! Watching the parade as close as possible feels way different than sitting in your box!”

The smaller boy sighed. “Guys, this is embarrassing.”

“Aw~ Don’t be like that, Jake.” Rielle patted Jake’s head and ruffled his hair, making the boy pout. “We’re here to have fun, after all.”

Jake gave Rielle a sideways glance. “I thought you say we’re here to observe the NRC Magishift players?”

Rielle hummed before forming a playful smile. “Hmm… That too.”

Jake sighed again. He really wished that Hector was here. Too bad that boy had detention from once again making the whole chemistry room a flying obstacle ground. He and Rielle followed Moray and Ali from behind, watching them arguing about who is the best Magishift player between them. Jake was never interested in Magishift. Playing in a team just wasn’t his style. _At least, not anymore…_

“Heh~ You look good, baby seal~”

“Senior Floyd, please. We’re in public.”

_Wait._

Jake stopped his track. _That voice._ He turned to the side, catching a group of teens. Three of them wearing some sort-of silver-and-purple suit with committee pins, while the last one wearing some sort of pirate costume, his back facing him. One of the suit-wearing boys was hugging the smaller boy, nuzzling at his cheek. The smaller boy managed to get himself out from the hug, laughing when the taller boy pouted. The smaller boy turned around a big, exposing his face for Jake, making his blue eyes widened.

_It’s… It’s him…_

Jake never realized the rest of the gang walked back toward them, also watching the playful scene with shock and disbelieve.

“Is that who I think it is, guys?” Moray asked.

Ali nodded. “Yeah. Che’nya wasn’t joking after all.”

“But why here?” Rielle asked. The watched the boy waved his hand to the gang before walking away. Before any of them could do anything, Jake had already started running. “Jake. Wait.”

_No. He couldn’t wait. The boy was here. How could he be here, after disappearing for months, nearly a year now? He was just a few feet away from him. What if he suddenly disappeared again? What if he couldn’t see him again?_

“Hey!”

Jake didn’t realize he had shouted that, but that managed to stop the boy. The captain turned around, that same black eye was staring at him. “Can I help you with something?”

_Wait._

“I…” Jake lowered his stretched out hand. “Uh… You…”

_What did you mean by ‘can I help you with something’? Why did you ask that? You know me, right? Did you really forget about me too, just like what Che’nya had said?_

“Sorry.” Jake lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. “I thought you were someone else.”

“O...kay?” The boy sounded confused. He took a step back. “Sorry, I have to go now.”

With that he turned around and took off running, leaving Jake in the crowd. The boy couldn’t understand this. _Why he couldn’t remember? Why did he just run away like that? What happened to him? Does this mean he forget all of those moments?_

“Jake!” Jake forced himself to turn around, watching Rielle finally caught up to him. The red-haired prince looked around, before turning back to Jack. “Where is he?”

Jake sighed and shook his head. “He doesn’t recognize me,” he muttered as he shoved his hands to his jacket pocket.

Rielle was silent for a moment before patting him on the head again, this time giving him a soft ruffle. “Once we get back, we’ll tell the headmaster,” he said, giving Jake a soft smile when he looked. “Come on. Let’s join in with Moray and Ali.”

Jake nodded. The two of them managed to maneuver their ways through the crowd standing on the side of the street where the parade will walk thought. “Moray! Ali!” Rielle called the two other boys as they ran toward them. “Great spot guys!”

“About time you get here!” Moray exclaimed. “You’re lucky it’s not starting yet.”

Ali leaned closer to Rielle. “How did it go with him?” In which Rielle only answer by shaking his head.

“ **Ahem… To everyone who has been waiting for the Tournament to begin… You’ve waited long enough and now, it’s time for the march of the players!** ”

The voice came from the speaker. Ali and Moray were cheering loudly along with the crowd they were way more excited than Rielle had anticipated.

“ **First up are last year’s champions! Will they take the victory again this year?! Our Reigning Champions, DIASOMNIA~!** ”

The cheering continued as the fanfare was sounded. The sound of marching boots could be heard as a group of black-and-green with horned hat marched toward the stadium along with smoke special effect. _They really went all-out this year, huh?_

“Hey! I think I can see Malleus Draconia!” Ali pointed at the front of the group where they could see the leader of Diasomnia clearly, though he seemed to be… shorter?

“Aw, man!” Moray whined. “Too bad Fraser can’t be here.”

Each time the Diasomnia stepped forward, smoke came out from underneath him. It was a bit overwhelming actually. Jake could hear some people started coughing. Even Rielle started coughing. Jake winched when something caught his eyes. _Dust? Wait. No… Sand?_

_A sandstorm effect?_

“Hey what’s going on?” Moray shouted as the smoke/sandstorm became thicker. Suddenly he felt some pressure from behind him. “Ow! Ali! Don’t push me!”

Ali was panicking. “Sorry! I can’t- Whoa!” The boy felt his body moved on its own, pushing himself and Moray in the way of the parade. It wasn’t just Ali, a lot of people started shouting in panic, making their way toward the street and toward the Diasomnia students.

“Wh-what’s that!? The guys watching the parade are heading over here!?”

“AHHHHH! My body’s moving on its own…! Out of the way, get out!”

“Don’t push me!”

“Runaway! You’re gonna get crushed!”

“Jake! Grab my hand!” Without thinking much, Jake grabbed Rielle's hand and the two of them tried their best to fight against the stampede of people. _What is going on?_

“This is bad…! We’ll be trampled by the crowd at this rate. Protect Lord Malleus at all costs!”

“Lord Malleus, over here! Lord Malleus! AHHHH! We won’t make it!”

“We’re going to get crushed…!”

“AHHHH! Lord Malleus~~!”

Among the panic of the crowds and students, they missed the quiet laugh of a hyena and a lion.

* * *

Leona and Ruggie jumped through the Savanaclaw Mirror, joining the rest of their dormmates who were talking and laughing as the watched the broadcast on the big screen TV of their Magishift stadium. When they heard that Leona had returned, they focused their attention on their prefect.

“We saw the broadcast, Leona! It was amazing!”

“The plan worked!”

“Diasomnia is now flat as a pancake!”

Leona chuckled. “Good riddance, Malleus. I’ll be taking the throne this year.”

Ruggie snickered. “Long live the King!” he shouted, pumping his fist to the air.

The other member laughed and followed Ruggie cheered. Leona smirked. This plan was flawless, even with the few bumps on the way. It was so easy to convince Kalim to put his parade idea in the event, just to ‘make it more entertaining’. Azul may have not given him his homemade magic amplifier, but that was okay. Improvising must be done at one point. With his _King’s Roar_ as a distraction and Ruggie’s _Laugh With Me_ to control the people into confusion, they managed to follow their original plan.

The enemies are gone now. There was no way Savanaclaw would lose this year. There was no way he wouldn’t be king this year.

_But, of course, all good things must come to an end…_

“I feel like we’ve heard enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an actual challenge since we’re introducing some RSA OCs. All of them, along with the interpretation of Prince Rielle were created by @animenightmarenation on Tumblr. I have her permission to use them, even though they are discontinued now. You guys should her out @animenightmarenation! [https://animenightmarenation.tumblr.com/]
> 
> Well, keep this chapter in mind because the characters that appear here are quite important. If we don’t get Diasomnia Arc or any Interschool Magishift tournament with RSA, we will be meeting them again.  
> \---  
> One last thing, guys!
> 
> We’ve finally reached the Magishift portion from the canon. Which means we are so close in reaching “The Rebel of the Wilderness” Arc’s ending. After this, we're going to have a little filler arc temporary titles "Break & Gosh" (It doesn't sound as good as “Jonah Argentum’s Declassified Boarding School Survival Guide”. I'm still thinking, okay?) which mostly focus on Leona's well deserve heart-to-heart talk, obligatory Halloween episode, and Final Exam shorts to bridge “The Merchant of the Deep Sea”. “Break & Gosh” shall start mid-July because I haven't started drafting yet, while “The Merchant of the Deep Sea” will start early August.
> 
> And just like “The Crimson Tyrant”, we're going to have a recap episode!<  
> If any of you are curious behind the scene of “The Rebel of the Wilderness”, asking why my update schedule is so horrendous, or just to talk, just submit your messages to my “Good Question” box on Tumblr @tsukikoayanosuke! [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]  
> I will be answering/reacting to them on 5th July.
> 
> I'll be waiting! ;D


	58. Silent Applause! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EVERYONE toward SAVANACLAW: “Surprise, mother*cker!”

“I feel like we’ve heard enough.”

The cheering was replaced by gasps as most of the Savanaclaw turned around to see the Heartslabyul Prefect, his troublemaking first-years, and the traitorous wolf-boy entered the stadium. “Your actions have sullied one of our traditions.” Riddle took out his magical pen. “As the Heartslabyul Prefect that values ‘austerity’, I cannot let this act slide.”

Deuce took out his magical pen, red gem already glowing. Ace brow furrowed as he spat. “He means it’s time to stop, kitty.”

Leona scoffed. “You little brats… Go play your 'heroes of justice' game somewhere else.” His eyes glanced at Jack. “And what is that puppy doing with you? Did you transfer to Heartslabyul, huh?"

“Right now.” Jack clenched his fists, glaring at Leona. “I just can’t stand being on your side.”

Leona growled. “You damn traitor!”

“Are you all drunk or something?” Ruggie asked mockingly, standing in front of Leona. “Coming all the way here with your friends just to spy on the enemy?”

“Should we teach them a lesson, Leona?” A question came from one of his dorm members. It was like hunger had taken over them and their prey just walked straight into their den. The prefect smirked.

“Go play with them.” The order was simple and Savanaclaw didn’t waste any more time. Riddle took a step forward, spinning his magical pen as a magic circle shone around his hand, changing the pen into his heart-staff. Immediately, he slammed the staff to the ground, summoning tree roots from beneath the ground and threw students away. Ruggie acted quickly, taking out his magical pen and summoned a water bubble to protect himself and Leona from the rain of students.

Once it was clear, Ruggie waved his pen, throwing waterballs from the bubble toward them. To counter that, Ace summoned his wind, popping the bubble. More students came in their way. Ace quickly stepped aside as Deuce pointed his magical pen toward them, summoning his cauldron and hit them all like bowling pins. Ruggie clicked his tongue and summoned his waterjet which was blocked by Riddle and his staff. The waterjet was strong though that Riddle nearly slipped but Jack stepped in, summoning columns that hit Ruggie on the chest, throwing him far away from Leona. But Ruggie was stubborn. He kept on throwing his water attack toward Jack who kept defending with his earth magic.

Leona sighed. He stepped forward, taking out his magical pen which immediately turned into his staff. With just a small glow of the gem, he summoned his floating spiky rocks and threw them toward the redhead. Riddle’s eyes widened, raising his staff to protect himself. He managed to hit some, but it didn’t stop Leona to create tears on his uniform. He didn’t realize Leona summoned a bigger stone and threw it toward him. The rock was flying to fast toward Riddle. He couldn’t-

_*CLANG!* *POOF!*_

A blur of red, brown, and grey suddenly appeared in front of him. “Sorry, we’re late, Senior Riddle. The changing room was a bit cramped up.”

Riddle and Leona’s eyes widened as Jonah stood up from his crouching position. In his hand was the silver cutlass that Schoenheit had picked for him. The blade was shining under the sun. Leona growled. “You brat…”

He summoned more rock toward them. Jonah acted fast. “Whoa!” He swung his sword, cutting the rocks into sands. Leona grunted in frustration. He slammed his staff, sending earth columns toward them, but Riddle pushed Jonah aside and summoned his rose bush as protection.

Riddle turned toward Jonah. “How did you…” His eyes went to the blade. “Is that a silver sword?”

“Cutlass, actually.” Jonah was grinning when he lifted the weapon. “I didn’t know I can do that! That was so cool!”

“So, this is all your idea, you brat?” Leona stated finally lowering his staff. Looking around, he saw all the battle had stopped and the small party managed to hold themselves against his army, even managed to make them tired. Whether they would be able to play in the Magishift or not after this Leona didn’t care. What matters was this annoying pirate in front of him. “Always sniffing around other people’s business.”

Jonah smirked, challenging him. “Well, knowing what you’re going to do, there’s no way we’ll let that happen.”

Ruggie chuckled. “Your ambush here is a waste of time. It’s already too late to help Diasomnia!”

“Pray tell, I am quite interested in that story.”

Once again, gasps filled the arena along with Leona’s widened eyes as a familiar petite young man in black-and-green entered, along with the usual two taller students with green and silver hair.

“Who said they were too late?” asked the green-haired tall student with his hands on his hips.

“As you can see, there is not a single injury among the Diasomnia players,” said the silver-haired boy with a sleepy look. “And it’s all thanks to them.”

Ruggie gasped loudly. “How?! We saw you got swallowed by the stampede!”

“Too bad~!” An orange-haired boy popped from behind them, along with a grey cat on his shoulder. “Those were all my clones that I dressed up to look like them~!”

“What the hell is going on?” Leona growled.

The petite boy smiled. “I’ve heard of your plan from Riddle, and we decided to put on a little act.”

Ruggie's eyes widened when he finally connected the dot. “Th-then, Malleus is…”

“He is safe, of course!” yelled the greenette. “And all the spectators were safely released using magic by him. You better be grateful!”

“H-How is that possible?!”

Looking around, Leona could feel the coming headache. With most of his army defeated and his enemies were still standing, Leona could only sigh. “Ah, whatever.”

Everything went silent. Ruggie turned his head toward Leona. “Eh?”

Leona shoved his hands to his pants pocket. “It’s over. Over.”

 _He… He was joking, right? There was no way Leona just gives up. He must’ve had some back-up plan._ “Wai-Leona… What do you mean…?”

“Idiot,” Leona spat at the hyena. “If Malleus is gonna play in perfect condition, we have no chance of winning.” He sighed again. “There’s no point in playing now. I’m gonna sit this one out.”

“N-no way…!” Ruggie took a step back in shock. “Malleus aside, we took out all the other star players from the other dorms. And yet…” He looked down at his shoes. He still couldn’t believe this. _How could Leona say all of those after everything they’ve done?_ “You said you won’t play. I doubt we’d even place at all now… What’s going to happen to our dreams now…?”

Leona scoffed at him. “No matter how much of the world watches, in the end, it’s just a students’ game. You guys just got delusional about that dream and I just played along.”

“Why…?” Ruggie clenched his fists. “Weren’t we going to overturn the world…?”

Leona groaned as he massaged his temple. “Ah, stop nagging…” He was still glaring at the hyena as he slowly walked toward him. “Then, let me tell you the truth.”

“Gck!” That small noise came out from Jonah’s mouth. The first-year was griping his covered eye tightly that made Riddle worry. “Jonah? What’s wrong?”

“M-My eye…” Jonah hissed. “It had been throbbing like crazy since that stampede.” He lifted his head despite the pain, watching Leona finally stood in front of Ruggie, towering the smaller boy.

“Listen here.” Leona grabbed Ruggie’s chin harshly, making them stare at each other’s eyes. “You are a hyena raised in the trashy slums and I’m the loathed second prince who will never be king!” Leona grip was too hard, but Ruggie didn’t wince, for he was too shock at the words that came out from Leona’s mouth. “No matter what we do, the world won’t be overturned!”

“Wh-what the hell!?” Ruggie gritted his teeth. His eyes burning with anger. Without thinking, to everyone’s surprise, he raised his fist and punch Leona in the face, forcing the lion to let go of his chin. But Ruggie was too angry to say sorry. “Don’t mess with me!” He grabbed Leona’s collar screaming in his face as tears started to pool in the corner of his eyes. “We did all this and now you’re giving up!?”

“That’s going too far, Leona!”

“We’re gonna have you play even if we have to drag you there!”

The protests from the crowds only made Leona's blood boil. His fist was trembling and Jonah had to hold back his scream when the throbbing became stronger. “Ah, you’re so irritating…” There was a dim magic circle around Leona’s hand. Something clicked in Jonah's head and he acted fast. He didn’t know what is about to happen but he had a feeling deep inside him that he needed to stop this. He ignored Riddle’s scream of his name as he took off running toward Ruggie and Leona weaponless. His body moved was too fast for his thought to catch up and he was pretty sure he had never run this fast before.

“SHUT UP, YOU IMBECILES!”

Just as Leona screamed, he shot out his hand, aiming straight to Ruggie’s neck. However, Jonah was, somehow, faster. He pulled Ruggie away from Leona’s reach, in turn, placing himself between the hyena and the lion. He raised his right arm to protect himself as the magic circle around Leona’s hand glowed brighter.

And then, it was as if the earth just cracked and dust scattered everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning. Tomorrow's chapter has whump in it. If I can stay up for another hour, I'll post the next chapter immediately.
> 
> Remember guys, if you have any questions or a couple of suggestions, just sent your messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]). I will be answering/reacting to it on July 5th


	59. Savage Fang! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Senior Rosehearts… I don’t feel so good…”

Dust covered the air, causing everyone to cough and scattered away. Riddle covered his mouth and nose with his cape, but the dust still managed to get caught in his throat. He couldn’t see past the dust, but could still hear the voices.

“Dammit” He could hear Grim coughing. “Not the sandstorm again!”

_Wait…_

_Again?_

Something clicked in Riddle's mind.

_Of course._

_This had happened before…_

“How ironic, isn’t it?”

Riddle’s eyes widened. _That day during their flying lesson… That was made by Leona too?_

The dust finally slowly disappear and Riddle finally could see the damage. There were cracks on the wall of the stadium and the goal post slowly decaying into sands. The ground underneath Leona began to crack, forming a small puddle of sand around him. Ruggie was on the ground staring at Leona with wide eyes and-

“JONAH!”

Riddle knew his voice cracked when he saw the smaller boy. Jonah was being held up by his wrist, feet dangled above the ground. His fist was clenched as he gritted his teeth, but no sound escaped from his mouth. They could saw the dim magic circle around Leona’s hand that was holding Jonah.

“The magic that the loathed Prince of the Savannah was born with…” Leona growled, looking at the boy in his grasp. “It turns everything I touch back into sands!”

He clenched his hand and the magic circle around him brightened. Jonah let out a small gasp as the other watched his skin cracked, blood started to trickle down along with sandy skin. His wrist was probably becoming smaller too-

“GET YOUR FILTHY HAND OFF HIM!” Ace took out his magical pen sending a gush of wind toward the Lion, however, Leona just blocked it with his staff.

Leona turned his head toward Jonah as he thrust his staff to the ground. “Or what?” His hand hovered over Jonah’s throat as he gave Ace a sideways glance. “What can you do in a situation like this?” He turned back to Jonah. “This was all this pesky herbivore’s little plan, wasn’t it?” There was a malicious grin on the lion’s face. “All because of you… All of our plans are ruined!”

All of a sudden, his hand gripped Jonah’s stomach, and this time the boy did scream. The pain was coming straight from his guts, too central for him to ignore. His new uniform now dissolved into sands and skin cracking. Blood came out from the cracks, spreading itself and blending into the rest of the surrounding uniform. Leona was bigger and stronger than him and Jonah knew he couldn’t get away from him or stop the pain from increasing.

“Leona, that’s enough!” Riddle pointed his staff toward Leona, a magic circle glowing underneath his feet. **_“[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

Leona only smirked. Once again picking up his staff and swung it the ground, destroying the red magic circle.

“He destroyed Riddle’s magic!?” Grim shouted in shock.

“I don’t care if you’re a genius or whatever, but don’t underestimate your seniors.” Leona smirked. “Unfortunately for you, I score high with defensive magic.” He pulled Jonah closer, pulling his arm further back that Riddle was worried that the lion might break it. Leona covered Jonah’s mouth with his hand and the boy stopped himself from biting it. “And you don’t want to accidentally hurt your little captain, do you?”

Riddle growled. “You’re so powerful, so why resort to something like this!?”

Leona huffed. “Why…? Does the reason even matter to you? Or what, are you saying you’re going to comfort me?” He clenched his hand, a dimmed magic circle appeared, making Jonah trembled and eye widened. “There are a lot of things in this world that we can never have no matter what effort we put into it.” He laughed. “Look at this stupid boy. Not so brave anymore, are you, Argentum? How pitiful…” The magic circle lit up and Jonah’s black eye widen, brimming with tears as he began screaming into Leona’s hand. The skin around the man's fingers began to crack, as blood and sands started to trickle down his jaws.

“STOP ALREADY!” Riddle forced himself to turn to the side toward Jack. He was kneeling, hands on the ground, as if he was on a starting line of a race. A magic circle appeared underneath him, glowing bright yellow. He was growling, the wind blowing from the magic circle, hair and vest fluttering like a cape. “ ** _[UNLEASHED BEAST]_**!”

The magic circle shot out a bright light. They could hear a howl from it. When the light dimmed, it took everyone with surprise, even Leona who took off his hand from Jonah’s mouth. In place of Jack, a big wolf appeared. It was about 10 feet in length, has white fur and dark eyes. Before anyone could react, the wolf suddenly pounced toward Leona. The lion, who didn’t have time to grab his staff, was brought down to the ground, letting go of the boy.

“Sebek.” Lilia’s order was clear and the light green-haired boy immediately ran, catching the nearly unconscious boy before he hit the ground.

Once Sebek was running back toward them, Riddle took the small opportunity he had left. Once again pointing his staff toward the tackled Leona, he yelled, “ ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!”

His collar locked itself around Leona’s neck. He ignored Cater cheer of nice work and immediately turned around toward the rest. Sebek was kneeling on the ground, Jonah still cradled in his arms. The boy looked terrible with all those cracks on his skin. _Skins shouldn’t look like that._ The silver-haired boy also knelt, bringing out his magical pen and immediately cast some healing spell. 

“Hang in there, Jonah!” Deuce screamed. “We’ll take you to the infirmary!”

“N-No…” There was a small trickled of blood that came out from the corner of Jonah's mouth. Riddle loves the color red, but he didn’t like the way it pooled on the ground beneath Jonah.

“Don’t say anything,” the silver boy said. “Safe your strength.”

Jonah grabbed his magical pen and lowered it. “This… This isn’t o-over…”

“This is for you, Jonah Argentum.” Riddle rarely calls him that now. He was serious about this. “You’re leaving.”

But there was a stubborn glint in Jonah’s eyes. “I-I’m not…” He reached for his eye-patch and ripped it off. Riddle could only gasp at the yellow-and-red eye. _He swore he had seen it before._ Jonah was staring straight at him, eyes glowing at him. “I will not abandon my ship and crew.”

He heard Lilia chuckled behind him, followed by him turning around. “Are you watching this?”

Riddle forced himself to turn back to Leona. He saw Jack already climbed off him but still on his pouncing stance. Leona is standing with Riddle’s collar around his neck. Lilia stepped in front of the group as if blocking them, especially Jonah from the lion’s view. “Compare to the child, you should just give up your crown.”

“What did you say?” Leona growled.

Lilia sighed closing his eyes. “Given your talents, I had always lamented the fact that you could never become king, however…” He opened his eyes again, smiling so widely and mockingly. “You now live a life full of sloth and every time you betray your expectations, it is the other party that you find fault in.” He let out a laughed. “And you think you can become king with that attitude? Compared to our dignified king, Malleus, that is truly laughable. Even if you have defeated Lord Malleus, if you do not rid yourself of your rotten heart… You can never become a true king!”

Riddle could felt the shift in the magical aura. He clutched his staff harder, ready to protect his juniors. He let out a grunt, feeling Leona’s magic energy spiking up. Leona’s hand covered his own eyes, laughing as he tilted up to the sky. “Hahaha… Yeah, you’re right. It’s exactly as you say… Hahahaha! I will never be king no matter how hard I work…!”

Ace looked up at Riddle. “Prefect. What’s going on?”

“Leona’s magical energy is skyrocketing…” Riddle grunted. “I—I can’t keep casting my magic on him like this…!”

Lilia frowned. “No, this is not magical energy. This ominous negative energy is…” his eyes widened. “No, it can’t be…!”

“Get back, all of you!” Riddle shouted and everybody immediately grabbed their magical pen. The earth cracked beneath Leona’s feet, sending dust to the air once again. Leona grabbed his staff and with one swift swing, Riddle’s collar broke into lights like shattered glass.

“He sent Riddle’s collar flying…?!” Riddle heard Cater said, voicing his shock.

“I’ve always been loathed ever since I was born. I had no place to call home nor did I have a future,” Leona said in a low voice. Something black dripped to the ground from his gem and Riddle could hear collective gasps behind him. “No matter how hard I worked, I will never be acknowledged. This pain, this despair… THERE’S NO WAY YOU’LL UNDERSTAND!”

The gem finally cracked and the storm came. Black ink and dust flew around Leona, covering him into a sphere, before bursting energy wave toward them. Riddle used his staff to help him stand again, while Cater nearly fell to his knees. Lilia didn’t even flinch, only protecting his eyes with his arms. Jack stood in front of Ruggie, who Riddle realized hadn’t moved from his spot. Ace, Deuce, and Grim stood their ground, throwing themselves in front of Jonah and the other Diasomnia students.

The ink-shadow finally pulled back to Leona. _Wait… No. That’s not Leona Kingscholar._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the second chapter I’ve completed for the arc (the first one was Malleus’ appearance), so have a very quick update (technically this is not a double update since it’s already 3.30 am at my place while I uploaded the last chapter at 11 pm)
> 
> Overblot battle coming tomorrow! Can our half-dead captain and his crew stop the King of Beast?


	60. Roaring Desire! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bring your guns!  
> Bring your knives!  
> Save your children and your wives  
> We'll save our village and our lives  
> We'll kill the Beast!

**_“RrRrRoOoOaAaRrR!”_ **

The lion in front of them was wilder than before. His hair became a darker shade of brown and an ink-like veil with a drop of tears covering his left eyes which were glowing with yellow flame. Even his outfit changed into something more tribal, with black fur around his neck similar to a lion mane and golden fangs necklace. He also wore black corset-like underneath the orange and yellow sarong, all of those were held up by a golden belt with chains and black fur. The gray ripped-sarong acted like a tail and he was also wearing black pants with a similar pattern as his corset-like, with golden leg-bracelet and no shoes. Around his wrists, he also wore a golden bracelet and his hands were covered with ink, acting like his gloves.

“Wh-what is that!?” Jack exclaimed, stepping back closer to Ruggie. “What happened to him?!”

Deuce, Ace, and Grim, stepped back closer to Jonah. “That’s… The blot’s manifestation!” the blunette gasped.

Grim shivered. “Did he go into evil villain berserker mode as Riddle did!?”

He felt something pulled his tail. Glancing behind him, he saw it was Jonah. “M-My cutlass…”

Grim looked around until he spotted a silver sword next to Riddle’s feet. Without hesitation, Grim flew toward it and picked it up, flying back quickly to Jonah. “You’re not going to fight, right?” the cat asked worriedly.

Jonah coughed again, wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. “I’ll be on the steering wheel.” Using his sword like a cane, the captain slowly stood up, even with wobbly knees and a really pale face. “We need to… Finish this quickly… Don’t want to miss… The Magishift, right?”

Ace groaned as he turned around, grabbing Jonah’s shoulder. “Who cares about Magishift?!” he screamed. “You really think we’re just going to watch that stupid game while you’re in the medic wings?”

Deuce nodded. “We’re not leaving you there. We’ll wait until you get help.”

Riddle turned around toward him. “There’s no stopping you, huh?”

Jonah gave him a weak smile. “No… I’ve told you I won’t abandon ship.”

Riddle sighed. He turned back toward Leona. _Did he change like that back then? This is horrible._ Looking around, there were still injured students from the previous battle, nearly all of them either staring at Leona in fear or unconscious. “Anyone who can stand, go, and find shelter!” he shouted. “Cater, take the injured someplace safe! Senior Lilia, please call the teachers for help!”

Cater nodded. “Right!” Taking out his Magical Pen, he summoned a magic circle beneath him and around him. “ ** _[SPLIT CARD]_**!” One copy of them emerged from each circle. “Let’s go, guys!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Understood. I shall pray for your safety.” Lilia turned toward the two Diasomnia boys accompanied him. “Go forth and aid in the evacuation!” Both of the students nodded and Lilia disappeared into sparks of light.

The silver-haired boy glanced at his comrade. “Sebek, let’s go bring the others to safety.”

“Don’t order me around, Silver!” the greenette yelled but did what they were told, running away from the main battlefield to tend the injured. They were going to need most of Silver’s light healing magic power for this.

Leona roared again, and Riddle unconsciously brought himself closer to Jonah. The boy was winching in every breath he took, but Riddle knew stubbornness when he saw one. “What should we do?”

Jonah took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he can. “Everyone! This is your captain’s order! All hands on deck!”

“Aye, aye, captain!” answered Ace, Deuce, and Grim. Riddle just nodded, holding his staff with two hands. On the other side of the arena, Jack went all four. He didn’t quite understand but when hearing Jonah’s commanding voice, he knew the boy knows what he was doing.

“ ** _[UNLEASH BEAST]_**!” he screamed. Once again, a magic circle appeared below him and it shot out a bright light. When it dimmed it, he was in his giant white wolf form.

**_“hAhAhAhA… tHaT’S NoT A FuNnY JoKe! AlL Of yOu wIlL NeVeR SeE ThE LiGhT Of dAy aGaIn!”_ **

“Deuce, attack!” Jonah shouted and Deuce nodded pointing his magical pen above his head.

“ ** _[FALL DOWN]_** , **_[CAULDRON]_**!” he screamed as a magic circle appeared above Leona. The lion looked up just when a giant cauldron fell from the sky. Leona roared and let out his claw, cutting cauldron into pieces.

Deuce gasped. “So strong!”

“Don’t go back yet!” Jonah yelled. Leona turned toward them and shot out his hand, sending waved of ink toward the gang. Jonah’s eyes widened. “Scatter!” The captain quickly grabbed Grim close to his chest and drop to the ground as Deuce, Ace, and Riddle jumped away.

Jonah looked up. “Grim, Jack, attack!”

“Right!” Grim wiggled himself out of Jonah’s hug and flew toward Leona at full speed. A magic circle appeared in front of him and with a yell, he shot out his blue flame right in his face. Leona roared, but before he could attack back, Jack ran toward him pouncing at him, bringing him down flat to the ground. Riddle moved, summoning his plant's roots to tied Leona down.

**_“I WiLl nOt bE HeLd dOwN By aNyOnE!”_ **

The lion roared again. Black ink spurted out from his back, cutting Riddle’s roots and throwing Jack off. The ink slowly formed itself as Leona stood up again, creating a silhouette of a brown-furred lion with black mane and ink-bottle face.

“Wha…” Ruggie gasped. “What is that?”

Jonah clicked his tongue from his kneeling position on the ground with his sword as his only support. “Riddle, Deuce, Jack! Attack!”

“Right!” Riddle ran toward Leona. He was still as surprised as Ruggie. _Did he also create that? Unbelievable._ He slammed his staff to the ground, summoning vines around it, and swung it like a whip. But Leona kept on cutting the whip with his claw. Riddle yelled as he swung his whip, but this time, Leona managed to grab it. Riddle’s eyes widened as Leona pulled the whip, and him, throwing them to the wall.

Leona didn’t have time to rest though. Jack pounced at him, scratching his back as ink flowed out from the wound. Leona growled and went all four. He ran toward Jack, landing his claw on the wolf’s face. Jack howled in pain but didn’t back down. The two wild anime kept exchanging scratches and bites, but Jack was holding himself back. He couldn’t hurt Leona. While the prefect was not the best in attitude, he still had some respect in him. Meanwhile, Leona was all-in for the kill. He knew the lack of Jack’s killing instinct.

**_“fOoLiSh pReY ShAlL Be eAtEn bY ThE GrEaT LiOn!”_ **

Taking the opportunity, Leona pouched at the wolf, bringing him down and went straight to bite his neck. Jack let out a pain-filled howl. His body started to glow and he transformed back to his human form, still screaming in pain as Leona’s fang sunk in his neck.

On the other side, Deuce ran toward them, magic circle already in front of his face. “ ** _[SHOOT OUT]_** , **_[CAULDRON]_**!” A cauldron shot out from the circle, hitting Leona on the side and forcing him to let go of Jack. Leona roared and took off running all four toward Deuce.

Getting up from his fall, Riddle quickly summoned a rose bush underneath Deuce so the blunette could jump from Leona. Once again, Deuce summoned his cauldron, and with a scream, threw the cauldron straight at Leona, hitting him on the back. He landed on the ground and did a roll. Leona threw the cauldron of his back, eyes aimed at Deuce, which made the prey gulped.

“Ace, Grim! Fireball combo!” yelled Jonah and Ace and Grim immediately took off. “Riddle, use your rose bush again!”

“You better not miss, chicken butt!” Grim yelled as he landed on Ace's head.

“Your tire better be flaming hot!” Ace retorted. The cat and the boy jumped. The cat popped out a fireball from his mouth which Ace, with a twirled of his magical pen, formed a windball around it. “Bombs away!” Ace threw the bomb at Leona’s face, but the lion raised his clawed, slicing it. Just like the plan, the bomb exploded in front of him, still hitting him.

Ace was about to land, but Riddle summoned his rose bush again. Using it as a spring, Ace jumped back at Leona, with Grim’s combo, throwing more bombs at him.

“Take this!” The bomb exploded and hit Leona’s back head. Riddle summoned his rose bush again for Ace and the ginger-head sprung back. “More of this!” The bomb hit Leona on the chest. Another rose bush was used for spring. “And thi-”

But Leona managed to grab Ace on the neck, throwing Grim off his shoulder and brought Ace to the ground with a scream.

**_“InSeCt!”_ **

Ace eyes widened as he was thrown to the side, crashing into Riddle. Jonah gasped. _Why is this lion so strong?!_ He saw Leona’s gaze at him. The lion was licking his lips, hungry for small animals. Without waiting any longer, Leona ran all-four toward him. He roared, sending his inkjet toward Jonah. The captain weakly raised his cutlass, cutting the inkjet into two. But he couldn’t stop Leona from pouncing at him. Jonah let out a gasped as Leona picked him up by the neck. He dropped his sword and tried to claw at the hand.

**_“ThIs iS WhAt hApPeN WhEn tO An hErBiVoRe wHo tRiEs tO FiGhT ThE KiNg oF BeAsT…”_ **

Leona tightened his grip and a dim magic circle appeared around his hand. Jonah’s struggle became more desperate. _No, not again! He couldn’t turn into sand. He couldn’t lose now. No. Not yet. Not yet!_

Suddenly a waterjet shot out from the side, throwing Leona off, letting Jonah go. Jonah screamed when he landed on his broken hand. He was pretty sure he broke a bone there. Or maybe his bone had already disintegrated.

**_“A HyEnA LiKe yOu iS DiSoBeYiNg mE?”_ **

Boots came in Jonah's vision and he saw Ruggie stepped forward, raising his Magical Pen straight at Leona, bubbles appeared around him as his bangs created a shadow over his eyes. “You really think I will let you go after what you’ve said?”

**_“iF I CaN’T OvErTuRn tHiS WoRlD, i’lL JuSt tUrN It iNtO SaNd…! aLl oF ThE ThInGs i dId… ThEy wErE MeAnInGlEsS!”_ **

“Is that really what you’ve been thinking…? All this time… Always…?” Ruggie gritted his teeth, holding his magical pen harder. His eyes burned with anger. “I won’t accept this! This is not the Leona I want to follow!”

**_“bIg tAlK CoMiNg fRoM A PiTiFuL HyEnA.”_ **

“Well, this hyena will be your downfall!” Ruggie spun around, summoning a pool around him. He thrust his hand forward, sending more waterjet at Leona, who counter more with his ink. Ruggie kept attacking, but Leona countered it. In turn, Leona summoned his ink toward Ruggie, but the hyena raised his hands, creating a water wall to protect himself.

“S-Senior Bucchi…” Jonah coughed. Ruggie glanced at him, but Leona took his small opportunity to attack again. Ruggie’s eyes widened, once again creating a wall of water. But he was a second too lale. The ink hit him square in the chest, sending him back to his knees.

“T-The eye…” the captain coughed again. “The eye… Is the weakness.”

Ruggie clutched his chest. "Is that so?"

**_“sHuT Up, BrAt! I’Ll tUrN YoU InTo sAnD!”_ **

Leona thrust his hand, summoning even more ink toward Jonah. The captain held his sword, but Ruggie already moved, summoning his water around them. Leona clutched both of his hands, and the ink surrounding the two boys form a sphere. Ruggie raised his hands in a circular motion, creating a bubble for him. He burst the bubble and the ink splattered everywhere.

**_“YoU LiTtLe…”_ **

Ruggie smirked. “What? Ran out of words, Your Majesty?” Ruggie stretched out his hand, summoning two waterjet toward Leona. The lion managed to protect himself, but Ruggie summoned more bubbles around him. The bubbles popped into smaller droplets, and with a thrust of his hands, he attacked with bulletrain-like water.

**_“nO! nOoO! nNnNnOoOo!”_ **

The water-bulletrain didn’t stop. It pushed Leona back and Ruggie was able to step forward, attacking him even more. In Leona’s distracted state, his face was wide open. Ruggie waved his wand again, summoning his waterjet again and shot it straight to Leona’s face, hitting the bullseye!

Leona let out a roar that could break the glass. He fell to his knee, clutching his eye which didn’t stop flowing with ink.

**_“I… wIlL… bE… kInG…”_ **

More ink came out from his eyes as the silhouette of the lion melted into that black goo. It rose to the sky, leaving Leona’s unconscious body on the ground which already came back to normal but dirtier than before. The ink danced in the air before it shot itself toward Jonah whose eyes widened once again. Ruggie gasped, summoning a bubble around Jonah, but the ink broke through it, hitting the captain straight in his right eye.

Jonah didn’t even fight back when he was thrown back. He had already lost too much blood. All of them were. It was a miracle all of them were still standing. _But now… Sleep sounded so good…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never know how hard it is to translate the famous Infinity War Titan Battle to a Madoka-theme battle.  
> I finished this in one day… I’m so proud of myself!


	61. Miserable Crown Prince! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jonah entered Leona's memory lane.

The first thing Jonah noticed when he finally gained consciousness was the smell. It was like something was burning. The second thing he noticed was the roughness underneath him. When he finally opened his eyes, he could see not only the black sky, but also the white smoke.

“GAH!”

Jonah jumped up, finding his surrounding in white flame. Dead trees and animal bones everywhere. _What… What had happened here?!_ Looking around he found something. Far ahead, he saw a familiar majestic rock he had seen in his vision. _Oh. Was this like what happened with Riddle? Was he supposed to go there? He could try…_

Carefully crossing the dead, fiery, savanna, Jonah noticed that the fire didn’t hurt him at all even if the air was warm. Jonah noticed some smoke didn’t fly up, which was strange. The smoke, in fact, flew toward him and around him in a small cyclone before blowing away. It was then he noticed that the smoke started to form something in front of him. The flame slowly disappeared and, in exchange, a room appeared. The room, a bedroom to be exact, was way bigger than the Ramshackle Dorm’s lounge. It looked like it belongs to some rich kid.

“… haa… haa…”

Jonah turned toward the queen-sized bed. He could make out a pair of small ears that poked out from under the thick blanket. The door to the room was opened and Jonah saw the ear twitched. “Mom…” Came a high-pitched whine. It didn’t sound annoying at all, instead, it sounded sad.

A young woman with rabbit ears came closer to the bed. She pulled down the cover and it revealed to be a younger version of Senior Kingscholar. His brown messy mane and green eyes were the only sources of color there. He looked terrible with his flushed cheeks.

“No, Your Majesty,” the young woman said, going down on her two knees next to his bed. “Your parents are attending your brother’s school performance.”

Tiny Kingscholar was gasping for air. “… It’s hot… So hot…”

He lifted his hand as is trying to reach something invisible. The woman gently grasped his tiny hand, frowning. “You really are burning up…”

Kingscholar sighed when the woman started to rub his hand in hers. “Your hands are cold… It feels nice…”

The young woman smiled. “I’ll be with you until the doctor come, Your Majesty.” She pressed the tiny hand onto her cheek just to reassure him.

Kingscholar eyes slightly widened and he closed his fist. “… Don’t… everyone says I’m… dangerous…”

“You are not dangerous. Your hands are beautiful, Prince Leona”

Kingscholar let out a sigh as he opened his palm again, wanting more of that coolness compare to the hotness around him. “…Nanny Vanni… Your cheek is nice and cold…”

“Poor cub… You’re burning up… So badly…”

_*crack…*_

Jonah's eyes widened. Neither young Kingscholar nor the nanny realized it, but there was a dim magic circle around the child's hands. Maybe because of the sickness that Kingscholar couldn’t control himself, but the nanny’s skin under his palm began to crack. The wind blew and the image suddenly disappeared, retuning as a smoke.

 _Both of his parents weren’t there?_ Well, Jonah knew Riddle’s mother wasn’t the best or how Crowley was absent almost the entire time, but at least they were there. They care in their own way. _Didn’t Kingscholar’s parents also love his son?_

Jonah kept on walking through the white flame. Now that he thought about it, what exactly happened here? He knew it didn’t happen in one of his visions. _Maybe after it? What happened to the black-manned lion?_

Jonah felt a crack underneath him. Looking down, he saw some animal bone underneath him. But, he also realized that he no longer was standing on the cracked ground. Instead, it was a fine stoned path. When Jonah raised his head, his eyes widened. In front of him was young Kingscholar, looking way better than before. But the young prince wasn’t looking at him. His back was pressed against a wall. His right hand was holding his upper left arm, while his left palm was also pressed on the wall. His eyes however were glancing at something behind the wall.

Kingscholar’s ears perked up and Jonah’s ears picked up the sound of clashing metal. Leaning to the side, Jonah finally found the source. A young man, half-lion with a red mane, was having a sword fight with an older man with panther ears and tail.

“Just you wait!” the lion-boy laughed, holding up his sword. “I’m going to beat you today!”

The older man laughed. “Whenever you are ready, Your Majesty.”

The lion ran toward him and jumped. “Haa!” He raised his sword above his head and brought it down, clashing with the panther-man’s sword.

They were some servant standing on the other side, but they didn’t realize that Kingscholar was listening to them. “Ah! The First Prince Farena is so skilled with the sword.”

“Not to mention he’s so handsome~”

“Not like the Second Prince, Leona. Haa… I can’t understand that boy.”

“And his power… How frightening!”

“You know, Vanni, right?”

“The maid that retired a few weeks ago?”

“You know her scar? I heard that it was the prince undoing.”

Young Kingscholar gritted his teeth and clenched his left fist. Jonah could see a magic circle around it, slowly melting the wall behind him with sand.

“Leona!”

Kingscholar immediately released his fist, hiding his hand behind his back as an older lion-man in majestic garments walked toward him, looking rather pissed. The man stopped in front of the young boy and Kingscholar raised his head, his green eyes staring at the man. “Hello, father,” he greeted without any warmth in his tone.

“I’ve heard that you skipped your tutoring again?”

“I finished early with a perfect score.” Kingscholar rolled his eyes. “And it’s my break time.”

“Your break time is over five minutes ago. You need to learn how to be discipline.” The man sighed, rubbing his temple. “Please, Leona. This is very important for your future.”

Kingscholar clicked his tongue. “Yeah. What future?”

_*SMACK!*_

Kingscholar hissed. He didn’t dare to touch the red mark on his cheek. He glared intensely at the man in front of him, who was as angry as he was, maybe even more. “Don’t talk like that, young man!” the man roared, grabbing Kingscholar’s collar. “Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

The man ignored the way Kingscholar’s eyes teared up or the hateful look he was giving. The vision disappeared as the wind blew, leaving Jonah standing there, staring where young Kingscholar once stood. _No wonder he was bitter. Kingscholar was a smart kid, but the way people treated him, it was no surprise that Kingscholar never gave it his all, knowing that no one will appreciate him._ Jonah clenched his fists, took his new understanding, and walked forward.

He didn’t know how long he had walked but finally, he reached the Pride Rock. The heat suddenly became hotter. _Maybe this was where the flame came from._ There was a flaming inferno underneath the point of the rock and… someone was dangling by it...?

_Wait a minute…_

“Senior Kingscholar!”

Jonah climbed as fast as he could to the rock, nearly slipping but he managed to hold on. Once he reached solid rock in front of the cave, he was about to dash forward when suddenly he was pushed down to the ground.

“Leona!”

Jonah turned his head toward the voice. It was the same bedroom as the first vision, but it had a more mature feel in it. A teen Kingscholar opened one of his eyes, sighing when he saw an older version of the lion-boy with a red mane, wearing the majestic garments and a crown on his head.

“Why!” Kingscholar lazily sat on his bed. “If it isn't my big brother descending from on high to mingle with the humble abode.”

_Brother? So that was the first prince? Farena? Or was it ‘King Farena’ by now?_

“Why didn’t I or Marani see you at the ceremony?”

“Ceremony?” Kingscholar flicked his tail in annoyance. “Oh, the doting parent party you hosted so you could show your son off?” He let out a fake gasped. “Oh, how rude of me. I ended up going back to sleep.”

“Today’s an important day for our people to see their future king,” the king growled.

Kingscholar growled back and jumped off his bed, shoving his hands in his pants pocket. “It’s a day to celebrate indeed. It’s the day that their loathed second prince lost his right to the throne.”

He walked past Farena, but the older lion grabbed Kingscholar's upper arm. “Don’t turn you back on me, Leona!”

“Oh no, Farena!” Kingscholar forcefully let go of Farena’s hand. “Perhaps you shouldn’t turn your back on me.” The prince walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, ending the vision.

The smoke was getting thicker as a flash of lightning suddenly appeared. Jonah found himself inside the cave, but he quickly stood up and ran at the end of the rock. He immediately knelt and stretched out his hand, noticing the flame became wilder.

“Senior Kingscholar! Grab my hand!”

Kingscholar looked up weakly. He looked tired and his green eyes weren’t shining anymore. “Why bother…” He even sounded like he just gave up on life. “Nobody will listen.”

“Do you really mean that?” Jonah screamed. “Are you really just going to throw all your effort away?”

“Why do you care? Are you here to laugh at my failure too?”

“No! Why would I?”

“I am the boy who everyone will look down upon. No matter how hard I try, they will always look at me as the troublesome second prince.”

Kingscholar grips were slipping. Jonah immediately grabbed his hand. “I don’t care about that!” he screamed. “Nobody care that you are the second prince. Everybody knows you are Leona Kingscholar, the prefect of Savanaclaw with a cunning mind. Isn’t that enough?”

Kingscholar looked up at him, looking confused as if this was the first time hearing that. Jonah was struggling with Kingscholar’s weight. “Please, Senior Kingscholar…” he whispered. He felt his grip was slipping. “Please… Just listen!”

Jonah couldn't hold their hand much longer. He could feel his body swaying forward, threatening to fall. But before their hands completely disconnected, Kingscholar roared and suddenly he pouched up, saving himself and Jonah. Both of them came tumbling until they stop in front of the cave once again. Jonah was breathing heavily, and so was Kingscholar. The smaller boy was the first one stood up, even if his knees were rather wobbly.

_*drip*_

Jonah touched the top of his head, feeling rather wet. More drop started to follow and soon soft rain showered the earth, extinguishing the flames little by little.

“Why…”

Jonah looked down. Kingscholar was kneeling with his head down. Jonah let out a soft smile and reached for Kingscholar hands, helping him to stand up. “You have people who care about you and look up to you. Are you really want to disappoint them?” he said softly. “If you can’t still see it, then just remember that you will have a place in my crew." Kingscholar stared at him in disbelief. In turn, Jonah gave him a grin. "Show me the best version of Leona Kingscholar.”

Jonah glanced up and Kingscholar followed his gaze toward the end of the rock. He grasped Kingscholar's hand again, making him look at him. Jonah step back and gave Kingscholar a bow with a gentle smile. “Your Majesty. It’s time.”

Kingscholar clenched his trembling fist before taking a deep breath and let it out as he unclenched them. He turned around and stepped forward. As he walked, the rain became harder, extinguishing the flames completely and washing away the bones of the dead animals and trees. Kingscholar reached the end of the rock. Looking up to the sky, they could hear the echo of thunder as the clouds parted, revealing a small patch of a starry sky. Jonah saw Kingsholar's eyes widened slightly. Maybe he heard the thunder differently because the corner of his lips curled up in a gentle smile.

The lion clenched his fist again and took a deep breath, before letting out a mighty roar that could make the earth tremble. And then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was harder than I thought it would be, mostly because canon doesn't give us much. How can canon gives us a full episode of flashback scene for the others while Leona only has a half episode?
> 
> Anyway, tomorrow is this arc finale!  
> Remember guys, if you have any questions or a couple of suggestions, just sent you messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]). I will be answering/reacting to it next Sunday!


	62. There's More To Be Seen Than Can Ever Be Seen! (The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘The Rebels of the Wilderness’ Finale

_It was nearing sundown when someone knocked on Crowley’s door. He put back the document he was reading in his drawer before looking up again. “Come in.” The door opened, revealing a red-haired prefect and his green-haired vice-prefect who was wearing crutches for his broken leg. “Prefect Rosehearts. And Mister Clover. What can I help you today?”_

_“It’s about the accidents,” Rosehearts spoke once they stood in front of Crowley’s desk. “We found who the culprit was.”_

_“Oh?”_

_“But, we have a request first.”_

_Crowley hummed. “Go on.”_

_“Whichever dorm who did this, we want you to not disqualify them from the tournament.”_

_“Come again?” Crowley stopped taping his bird-like claw-nail on his table. “Are you saying that you forgive them?”_

_“Not yet,” spoke Clover. “We just want our revenge.”_

_“I have talked with all the victims,” added Rosehearts. “All of them agree to let the culprit and the dorm to participate in the tournament. Magic can’t be used on others for personal reasons inside the school. But with Magical Shift being a competitive sport, they can go all out with magic against your opponents on the field.” He crossed his arm in front of his chest, a slight blush on his cheeks. “I would usually be against using such a traditional event to settle disputes, but Trey wanted to do it no matter what, so I’ll turn a blind eye to it this time.”_

_Clover chuckled and ruffled Rosehearts hair which the redhead smacked it away, muttering “Not in front of the headmaster.”_

_Crowley laughed. “If this is a majority vote, then I have no choice but to accept your request.”_

However, after looking around the destroyed arena, Crowley had a feeling none of them want to play in Magishift anymore. On the side, Howl was holding his bleeding neck, with Rosehearts on his side, trying his best to stop the bleeding. The prefect himself was covered with dirt and bruises, his Dorm Uniform’s cape was thorn away. Kingscholar was unconscious on the ground with Bucchi kneeling in front of him, trying to shake him awake. Even the hyena’s movements were sluggish. There was a crowd of first years gathered around one small spot. Trappola, Spade, and Grim were shouting at a very pale Argentum, who looked like he was dead from afar.

“Everyone!” All the remaining, weak, conscious students looked up toward the headmaster. “Bring all the injured to the infirmary. We’ll talk further there.”

The Diasomnia students and Mister Diamond immediately ran toward the injured. The green-haired boy helped Howl, slinging the wolf’s hand over his shoulder, while the silver-haired boy ran to Bucchi to help them carry Kingscholar. Mister Diamond ran toward Argentum, carrying him in his arm like a bride. Crowley turned around, along with Mister Vanrouge on his side as he led them out the ruins.

With the Magishift Tournament starting a few minutes, Crowley needed to clean this up quickly.

* * *

Leona groaned, slowly opening his eyes. _Where is he now?_ The last thing he remembered was fighting in the arena and-

A familiar bird-mask suddenly appeared in his vision. “This is quite a surprise, Mister Kingscholar,” stated Crowley. “It took Mister Rosehearts nearly the whole night to wake up.”

Leona groaned as he tried to get up, but Crowley pushed him down. “Take a rest,” he said, uncharacteristically, softly, and Leona just let him pushed him.

“Where am I?”

“The infirmary. You are the first one to wake up.”

Leona frowned. “Who’s the other one?”

Crowley looked to the side. In the corner of the room, under the window, laid Argentum, covered with bandages, and was unconscious. Leona just noticed that he was also covered by bandages. He sighed. “I went overblot, didn’t I?”

Crowley solemnly nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Leona pressed his palm to his forehead. “You’ve gotta be kidding me… I must’ve missed the Magishift, huh?”

“It’s still on-going. Mister Bucchi is Savanaclaw temporary leader.”

Leona blinked in confusion. “What?”

“It was an agreement between the victims behind your consecutive accidents,” Crowley said. Leona could he how the headmaster’s eyebrows ceased. “Savanaclaw is still able to play in the Magishift. However because you haven’t wake up, Mister Bucchi volunteered to take your place as the leader.”

Leona clenched his fists. “Why would he do that?”

Crowley sighed. “When I talked to the Savanaclaw students…”

_“I’ll do it.”_

_Ruggie Bucchi stood from his seat. Despite covered in bruises, he walked forward to stood in front of all the other members. “I’ll lead my team.”_

_The other members were muttering in confusion. “I’m not doing this for Leona,” Bucchi spoke again. “But I’m doing this for myself.” He glanced behind him. “For each and one of us.” He looked toward Crowley again. “I don’t know whether we can win or not without Leona on our side, but we need to show them that Savanaclaw can still put on a fight.” He grinned. “If all those other victims want us to apologize, they better give them all to earn them.”_

“Ruggie…”

“Savanaclaw is fighting with Diasomnia right now.” Crowley stood up as Leona’s eyes widened. He picked one of the mirrors from his belt, brought it near his lips, and blew on it. Smoke appeared as Crowley’s reflection turned to the scene in the arena. “I figure you might want some entertainment. This is from Mister Bucchi’s point of view.”

Leona snatched the mirror from the headmaster's hand, just when Ruggie threw the disc toward Jack. He could hear the hyena was snickering, cheering for Jack who flew past the defense of Diasomnia. The wolf threw disc hard. It flew past the goalkeeper and passed the goal. “YES!” Ruggie cheered as he ran toward Jack, patting him on the back as Jack’s tail wagged. The crowd went wild. Leona brought his hand to his mouth. He didn’t know why he felt so emotional. This wasn’t like him, but watching Savanaclaw managed to score against Diasomnia brought him joy. Even after those harsh words he had said earlier, Ruggie, Jack, and his Savanaclaw still gave his best.

_What did he do to get such an amazing pack like this?_

* * *

Savanaclaw still lost in the end and Diasomnia once again was crowned as the winner. Leona tried his best not to scowl when Crowley handed the trophy to Malleus. Leona sighed, putting the mirror beside his pillow. He glanced to the side, toward the still unconscious boy. _He did bad, didn’t he?_ Using his power on a human. He remembered he accidentally hurt his nanny, the only person who seemed to care about him, but she quit the next day because of her critical condition. It only made his situation worse; everybody was afraid of him even more and his parents forced him in his studies just make up for his name. He didn’t want to remember those times.

But he remembered someone was reaching for his hand, pulling him out from his dark thoughts. Their voice was suspiciously similar to that brat. But how-

_*BANG!*_

“Uncle Leona!”

Leona shot up on his bed, winching when he did it a bit too fast. His brother and his wife, along with that annoying nephew of his, barged in the infirmary and immediately ran toward him. A young child with lion ears and tail, who had some striking resemblance to his brother, was the first one to reach his bed. He was trying to climb up, but he was shorter than his bed.

“Uncle Leona! That Magishift was awesome!” the young cub laughed, exposing his tooth gap. “Savanaclaw is awesome! Why didn’t you play?”

“Cheka dear.” The lioness with brown hair tied in a bun, dark skin, and orange eyes, picked Cheka up and brought him close. “Don’t just shout like that. People are sleeping here.”

“Why?” Cheka asked, eyes wide filled with curiosity. “They should have a party after Magishift.”

The lioness chuckled. “Some people are too tired for that.”

“Is it their bedtime?”

“Yes. They go to bed early.” She turned to Leona. “How are you feeling, Leona?”

Leona stared at the group in confusion. “I’m…” He cleared his throat. “Never been better.”

She shook her head. “Try to say that with all those bandages.” She glanced at Farena who was still looking at Leona from top to down, brows creased in worry. “I’ll leave you boys alone for a while.”

“No! I want to be with Uncle Leona!” Cheka whined. But his mother pulled him closer.

“Later dear. Your dad needs to talk to his brother for a while.” Giving both Leona and Farena a reassuring smile. He saw Farena mouthed, “Thank you, Marani.” The woman nodded and she, with Cheka, walked out the infirmary, closing the door behind her.

Leona usually liked the silence, but this type of silence was not the one he preferred. He would rather listen to the brat snoring or Cheka talking about his letters rather than spending thirty seconds of nothing with this man.

“Leona.” The lion in question shifted his gaze somewhere else. “Just… Say something.”

“There’s nothing that needs to be said,” he huffed. “If you don’t have anything else, just get out.”

“Leona, I need to know that you’re okay.”

“Use your eyes, brother. Can’t you tell?”

He heard Farena let out an annoyed sigh. “Why are you being so difficult? You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Am I now?” Leona finally gave Farena a sideways glare. “Am I really doing this on purpose?”

“Yes!” Farena yelled. “Can’t you see that I’m worried about you?!”

Leona laughed. “HAH! Worried. You must be joking. After all these years, you just now feel worried about me?” Before Farena could retort, Leona cut him off. “You really think I believe that you are worried about me? You never even talk to me. You only come to me because you think I need some scolding. Do you think you can just take father’s job? What are you going to do? Spank me with a ruler like what he did?”

“Leona, you know dad do that because that’s a parents’ job,” Farena said, stepping closer to Leona. “You should know that.”

Leona smirked. “I also know that parents should never play favoritism.”

“Mom and dad don’t do that!”

“Really?” Leona sighed, laying back down in his bed, his arm covering his eyes. “Are you ignorant or just plain out blind?”

“Leona!”

“When I was sick, none of them stayed for me. They chose to go to your stupid school performance,” Leona said, his voice sounded more tired than before. “I managed to master my Unique Magic first, but they scolded me because I destroyed father’s unused hat when I tried to show it. Meanwhile, you destroyed an entire flower patch with your roar, but they just let the damage slide. I’m way smarter than you in potion making, but they prefer your swordsmanship. So, tell me, Farena?” He lifted his arm, looking at Farena with tired eyes instead of his angry glare. “Are you sure they’re not playing favoritism?”

Farena didn’t say anything. The King of Afterglow Savannah was staring at him with an emotion that Leona couldn’t describe. The younger lion sighed again. “No matter how hard I tried, mother and father never acknowledge me. They always saw me as an insufferable brat. And people being afraid of me because of my power just gives more salt to the wound.”

Leona covered his eyes again. They started to tear up and he didn’t want Farena to see it. “I don’t need your shadow to cover me here too. Get out or I’ll call the nurse.”

Farena didn’t say anything. He didn’t even sigh. He just whispered a small sentence with a very soft voice. “I’m sorry.”

Leona didn’t reply to that which didn’t come as a surprise. He heard Farena’s heavy boots made their way toward the door. He heard the creaking door, a small pause before it was closed softly from the outside. Leona sighed as he lifted his arm. A single tear fell from his scared eye. _Whyis he crying? He didn’t do anything wrong. It was Farena’s fault for taking all his spotlight._

_So why does he feel so hurt right now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that, we close our book for 'The Rebel of the Wilderness'  
> AAAAAHHHHH! It is done!  
> Thank you so much for sticking in, even with my weird update schedules.  
> Like I said, in the previous chapters, on Sunday 5th June, I will be doing a Recap Episode. I will be answering your questions and maybe share some behind the scene of what happened during the writings of this arc.  
> If you have any questions, you can send your messages to my Tumblr ("TsukikoAyanosuke" [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/])
> 
> Next week I'll be starting scripting for "Break & Gosh" and "The Merchant of the Deep Sea".  
> See you soon!


	63. They Say My System is Overloaded! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good News: Jonah actually survived the battle.  
> Bad news: The jumping between scenes is really hard to write.

The first thing Jonah noticed when he woke up was the feeling of being burned alive. His skin was tingling, his head felt lighter than ever, bile burned the back of his throat, and he couldn’t move without feeling he was going to throw up - or pass out.

_Something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong, and he knows it. He just can't place what is wrong._

He tried to lift his right hand, but he couldn’t even feel it. It was as if it disappeared completely. In turn, he lifted his left hand to his face, pressing his palm to his pulsating, aching head. His fingers grazed thick gauze, and after the throbbing in his head finally diminished enough, he cracked his eyes open. He knew that ceiling.

_The infirmary again?_

_What... What happened... To him...?_

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he remembered **everything** _._ The Magishift Tournament; ambushing Savanaclaw; Senior Kingsholar's power; that bloody overblot battle; everyone getting hurt-

Jonah leaped out of the infirmary bed. When his feet touch the ground, he swayed, and black spots invaded his line of sight, but he didn’t care.

His head was absolutely pounding, and he swallowed thickly, trying to take deep breaths to ward off sudden nausea. He stumbled more than walked, trying to make it to the door on the other side of the room.

_He has... To make sure..._

He hissed through his teeth in pain, clutching his head again.

_... Ace... Deuce... Everyone..._

_He needs... To know... They’re okay..._

The tiled floor seemed to swirl beneath his feet. Bile burned the back of his throat.

_He needs..._

_... To know..._

Just as he reached out to turn the knob, the door swung open.

"Argentum!"

Jonah couldn't take it anymore. His knees gave up, but a pair of gloved hands caught him before he could meet the floor.

"Why are you out of your bed?"

He knew that voice. "H-Headmaster," he stuttered. Another bolt of pain shot through his head, and he gritted his teeth again.

"Come on, young man, back to bed."

Jonah didn't protest when Crowley picked him up in his arm. He leaned his head on the headmaster's shoulder as they crossed the room again.

"S-Senior K-Kingsholar," Jonah coughed. "T-The other... T-They're-" He broke off into a fit of coughing, each time sent pain to his stomach.

"Everyone is fine," Crowley whispered, quickened his pace. "You took the most between them. You have to stay down for a while, alright?"

Jonah sighed in relief. When Crowley placed him on his bed, the change of position from sitting to laying down made him want to puke. His head felt like it was full of cotton.

Jonah felt a hand was placed on his forehead. It felt so cool. A light shone at the corner of his vision, coming out from Crowley's mirror on his hips as ice magic came out from his gloveless hand.

"Don’t beat yourself up over it," Crowley said. "You need to rest. You fought a tough battle."

Jonah reached weakly for his hand. "I... I couldn't..." His clutch was trembling. "I... I couldn't do anything..."

He could feel Crowley's eyes bearing into him, but Jonah didn't want to meet his gaze. He shut his eyes. "I just... Stood there... Every... Everyone is fighting and I... I'm useless"

Crowley's other hand reached for his head, caressing his head softly. Jonah couldn't understand why he felt like he wanted to cry. "No, no, young Argentum," he cooed. "You are not useless."

"But I..." Jonah sobbed. "I just stood there..."

"But you gave them orders, didn't you?" Crowley asked and Jonah cracked his eyes open again. "Everyone has a role in this battle. You are the leader. The captain. You are the most important person on the battlefield."

"But I just stood there..."

"Not every leader comes with a sword. They fight with their wits and strategy. And you, Jonah Argentum, is the greatest leader any crew could ever have."

Jonah blinked, confused. "But... They got hurt."

"Leaving a battle with some battle wound is inevitable."

"If I can stop it... I will..." He wanted to continue but a sudden, a sudden, cooling sensation rushed through him and his eyes slid shut against his will. If his mind had been foggy before, it was a total white-out now.

"I know you will try, young Argentum." He heard Crowley whispered. "Don't think about that too much. Rest now."

And Jonah finally lost his consciousness.

* * *

“How is this even possible?”

The school nurse, an old man named Shalom lowered his hand as the gem on his necklace stopped shining with white light. “Even with magic, the body still needs to heal over time. I can’t use potions, he’ll just throw up again.”

Crowley clenched his hand into a fist behind his back as he tried his best not to look at Argentum’s body under the blanket and focuses only on the boy’s face. Under the light, Argentum looked worse. His cheeks were flushed dark, an unhealthy shade of red, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. His teeth clenched and his eyes squeezed shut, looking way more restless compare to earlier.

“His body is denying every potions and medication I tried to give him,” Shalom continued. “The only thing working is healing magic.”

“But you can’t just keep using it without the risk of overblotting,” Crowley guessed as he reached his hand toward Argentum’s face, the back of his fingers gently caressing the boy’s sweaty and flushed cheek.

Shalom nodded. “I’ve used too much when healing the other boys. We’re just going to have to wait it out and see what happens.”

Crowley sighed through his nose as he watched the sick student. Something in his chest clenched. _What is it? He wonders…_

* * *

“Captain!”

“Jonah!”

“Quiet down!” Mister Spencer whispered harshly, effortlessly shutting Ace, Deuce, and Grim. When they had quieted, Spencer’s tone softened considerably. “The boy was tossing and turning all night and only just managed to sleep peacefully. Keep your voices low.”

Ace and Deuce nodded, though their attention glued to their friends. Grim was the first one to move closer, flying of Deuce’s shoulder and landed beside Jonah’s head. “Jonah…” he whined desperately. His paw grazed the boy’s shoulder and he immediately pulled it back, hissing. “He’s so hot!”

“A fever?” Ace turned to Spencer. “Can you do something about it? Like, potions or spells?”

“I’m doing the best I can with my light magic,” ShaloSpencerm said. “But Argentum’s body rejected every potion we’ve tried to make him drink.”

“Rejected?” Deuce mumbled. “You mean, he threw everything out?”

Spencer nodded. “Everything must be done by magic.” He sighed as he sat on the chair next to the bed across Grim. “I’m doing all I can. Even a teacher like me can reach their limit.”

Deuce looked down, deep in thought. “There must be some way to help. But none of us has light magic for healing…”

As soon as the words we out of the blunette’s mouth, Ace suddenly perked up, snapping his finger. “That’s it!”

Everyone turned to Ace, glaring and shushing him. Ace piped down, but he continued. “That Diasomnia kid during the battle? The one with silver hair? He can do light magic.”

Deuce’s eyes widened. “That’s right! We saw that!” He turned to Spencer. “We can take him here if you want.”

“That’s an idea.” Though his voice sounded neutral, there was a glimmer of gratitude on the old man’s face. “Please, call him.”

Ace and Deuce nodded and immediately took off out of the infirmary. Grim didn’t move from his position. His small paw kept patting Jonah’s head despite the warmth. Grim let out a sigh and spun on his spot, before curling next to Jonah’s head. He didn’t close his eyes. He focused on the door, waiting for the other two to return and help his henchman.

No. Not henchman. _His friend._

* * *

It was unusual for someone to approach the Diasomnia cafeteria table, so Lilia was certainly surprised when two Heartslabyul suddenly stopped by. Nearly all of the cafeteria’s attention aimed toward them, but they didn’t seem to care. The ginger-head with the heart on his face slammed his hands onto the table. His red eyes scanned over the student before he stopped at Silver who was nearly fallen asleep on his seat.

“YOU!” the ginger-head shouted, pointing at Silver. The boy jumped in his seat, no longer looked sleepy. The ginger-head maneuvered around the table and reached for Silver. “Please come with us! We need your help!”

Silver, of course, was confused. He looked from the boy to Lilia and back to the boy again. “What?”

“Oh dear, what’s with the ruckus?” Lilia decided to spoke up. The ginger-head turned toward him. Panic shone in his eyes, along with desperation.

“We need to borrow him for a second.” Even his voice cracked. “This is an emergency.”

“I desire to wot moe about this emergency.”

The ginger-head looked like he was about to explode, but the blue-haired boy who was with him put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from shouting to the roof. “A friend of ours is really sick,” he spoke, even if his voice is calmer, there was still the same desperation tone in it. “We need a light-magic user and he’s the only one we know.”

Lilia watched both of the children back and forth. It suddenly clicked him. _Oh, his corky brain. No wonder they look familiar._ They were there during the battle with the lion. He quickly connected the dots and figured that the friend they were talking about must’ve been the young boy that got hurt from the _unique magic_.

Lilia pushed away his breakfast bowl and stood up. “Silver.”

“Yes.” Silver also stood up from his seat.

Lilia turned toward the two Heartslabyul students. “Take us to him.” The boys exchanged glanced before nodding at each other.

“Please, follow us,” said the blunette. Lilia and Silver nodded. Without waiting any longer, the four of them ran out of the cafeteria and down the corridor. At times like this Lilia would joke how these old bones are no longer suited for this test of endurance anymore, but he didn’t have the heart to say it between the panic.

The ginger-head slammed the door open. “We’re here!”

The nurse looked up. He was holding on a cold wet rag on top of the unconscious boy. The same boy that Lilia has guessed. At the end of the bed, the cat suddenly turned toward them, standing with all four legs, fur up, and hissing at them to shut up.

“Mister Vanrouge?” The nurse sounded confused. It was understandable. Lilia had met him when he was younger, back when Shalom was still a wee lad.

“Greetings, Mister Spencer.” Lilia nodded. He put a hand on Silver’s back. “Mine sirrah hither can use light-magic.”

He and Silver crossed the room and Shalom mover forward, meeting them halfway to explain the situation. “His fever is already reaching a dangerous high, and I can’t do anything else to bring it down, so-”

Silver nodded in understanding. When they reached the young lad’s bed, Silver already took out his sword-shaped Magical Pen. “What must I do?” he asked as he glanced at Lilia.

The older man moved so he stood behind Silver’s, both of his hands on the boy's shoulder. “Concentrate on thy light-magic,” Lilia whispered. “Imagine you’re putting a block of ice on a fireplace.”

Silver nodded and closed his eyes. White light started to came out from his green gem as he pressed the tip of the sword-pen once on the lad’s forehead. Lilia guided Silver hand so it hovered above the skin instead of pressing down. The magic formed a cool air looked like mist over the lad’s heated skin.

“Thank you for agreeing to help us,” said Shalom. “We really appreciated it.”

Behind him, the two Heartslabyul boys nodded. Lilia also noticed the cat moved closer. He was still glaring at them, but no longer hissing. He set himself next to the lad’s chest and snuggled up then with his ears down worriedly.

“It’s alright,” Silver said, but his eyes were still glued on his job. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“He’s a hardy lad,” Lilia commented, turning his head toward Shalom. “I hast confidence that he’ll pull through it.” But he also noticed something amiss from the boy. “Though, I’ve seen his hand during the broil. 'Twere nearly surprised.”

Shalom nodded solemnly. “Yes. Right now we only have one solution.”

Lilia frowned at him, not liking the tone. “Doth say to.”

“It’s right here.”

All of them, except Silver, turned toward the door. Dire Crowley walked into the infirmary, followed by Idia Shroud who brought a black and dark-blue suitcase with him. Behind the door, Lilia could see some students were waiting. He recognized the children of Heartslabyul and Octavinelle, along with the younger Shroud and the wolf child from Savanaclaw.

“I…” the older Shroud cleared his throat. “I think I can help with Jonah’s hand situation.”

“Are you sure you can do this?” Shalom asked.

Idia gave him a firm nodded, setting the suitcase to the table next to the bed, the blue-flame haired child opened it. It was filled with various equipment that Lilia’s old brain couldn’t grasp, but one particular piece of equipment caught his attention. Lilia turned back to the sick lad, his gaze focusing on the vacant spot where a particular part of the body should’ve been.

_Oh, poor child…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. We’re back with another Arc! Because this is a Filler Arc, it’ll probably take longer than usual because all of these chapters are purely original from my dumb mind. I’ll give myself two weeks to finish 8 or 9 episodes this before we go to the next Canon Arc.
> 
> And sorry it takes so long for me to return. I had trouble at home so I have to take a longer break. But I’m back now!


	64. Just Know That There are Up-and-Downs and There are Drops! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good Idea: We’ll finally find out what happened to Jonah.  
> Bad Idea: Why is this dream sequence so difficult to write?

He had a strange sensation of floating. As if someone suspended him above the ground. The air felt stuffier around here and it was a bit cold. _Where is here right now?_ He clenched his hand, happy that he still could control his body. _But was he conscious though? Was this real or a dream?_ Slowly he opened his eyes and immediately widened.

_Stars._

_They are everywhere._

_He’s in space._ The dark blue horizon with a tint of purple clouds covered with sparkling dots covering every inch of the vast space. He could felt the soft breeze blowing his air. _Wait? Breeze? There’s no air in space, how can there be a wind here?_

The wind suddenly became harder and suddenly something zoomed past him, hitting his back and making him lost his balance. He fell with a loud _*thud*_ , landing on a hard wooden floor. He winched, rubbing the sore spot on his back. He looked up and his eyes widened.

He’s on a ship. He could see the red sails flapping with the wind and the ship sailed through the sky. _How is this possible?_ Standing up, he held on to the edge. Not far, floating in space, was another ship. It was golden with white sails, but it was burning and he could hear the screams of panic from the people inside it.

A laugher caught his ears, followed a sound of coins falling to the wooden deck. He turned around and immediately pressed his back to the edge of the deck. A creature with fangs, multiple eyes, and a skull-like face, wearing pirate garments reached out for the fallen gold coins and shining colorful jewels, clutching them in his skeleton-like hand with long, broken, nails while laughing at a madman.

_**“We got it, boys!”** _

The creatures shouted and the crew, also weird-looking cheered.

_**“Hoist the sail! We’re off to another galaxy!”** _

The crew immediately started ran around, pulling the sail and running below the deck. The skeleton creature – the captain – dropped the gold, letting the rest of the crew cleaned up. The captain gripped the steering wheel as the rockets behind the ship lit up again. The ship blasted off, throwing him off the ship. He screamed. It felt like gravity pulled him back, the space itself started to blur. He tried to reach up, but the ship already flew at an incredible speed before vanishing without a trace.

**_“The loot of a thousand worlds?!”_ **

**_“It means that all those treasure is only a boat-ride away!”_ **

His vision started to blur. But before his consciousness faded completely, he could hear the sound of footsteps stepping up and a figure, a teenager like him, appeared, looking at the familiar green light beyond the darkness and holding a very familiar glowing object…

**_“This is my chance to make it up for you, mom… I’m going to set things right.”_ **

* * *

The second time Johan woke up, he didn’t fill like someone stuff a ton of cotton inside his head. He felt way better than before. No headache, no stomach flipping, he felt fine. He felt soft fur nudged his cheek. _Who… Is it time to wake up now?_

Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking several times to gain focus. He could make out the familiar infirmary ceiling, but what filled his vision was the wide blue eyes, widening ever so excitedly.

“JONAH!” The blue-eyes’ owner immediately hugged him around his neck, nuzzling his soft, furry head on his skin.

“G-Grim…”

There were the sound of chairs scraping the floor and immediately two familiar head popped into his sight. Ace was grinning down at him while Deuce let out a sigh of relief.

“Good to see you awake, captain!” shouted Ace. “You seriously freaked us out! Don’t do that again!”

“We were really worried,” said Deuce, unable to hold back his smile. “We’ve all been trying to visit you since the operation has ended, but Mister Spencer kept us away.”

Grim pulled back. Tears flowing down his eyes in an almost cartoonish way. “Are you still hurt? Should I call the grandpa? Are you hungry? I still have that delish rock-”

Jonah blinked several times, slightly overwhelmed, really, but not in a bad way. He pulled up the corner of his lips, giving them a weak smile. “Guys, I’m alright.” He wanted to raise his hand, but then he stopped. His smile dropped from his face.

“Jonah?” Grim ears dropped worriedly. Jonah sat up with difficulty, Ace and Deuce immediately helped so Jonah didn’t have to use his hands. His right hand in particular. _It feels weird, heavier than usual._

He didn’t wait any longer. He pulled his blanket off his body in an almost dramatic way, revealing what was hiding underneath to everyone.

 _His right hand is gone, starting from his wrist to his full hand and fingers._ It was replaced instead with an artificial metal shaped like his hand. The metal was silver and smooth. It was well-made with no mechanical joints visible though if you look, you could see the metalwork. It was as if he was wearing a white glove with some futuristic aesthetic.

_But still…_

Jonah reached out to caress the scar of cracked skin just above the mechanical hand. He could felt Ace’s hand on his shoulder but his focus only aimed at his… _Hand?_

He had lost his right hand.

_He had lost his right hand…_

“Jonah?” He heard Grim called. It wasn’t until now did Jonah realize that he’d started crying. Tears dripped down his cheek and onto his bedsheet.

“S-Sorry,” Jonah murmured, wiping his eyes with the back of his left hand. “I-I’m o-okay…”

Ace and Deuce exchanged glanced. “There’s no need to cover it, Jonah,” Deuce whispered, gently rubbing Jonah’s back which made the tears flowed even harder. “We understand.”

Jonah shook his head, trying his best to wipe out all the tears. “R-Really,” he hiccupped, voice cracking and barely a whisper. “I-It could be w-worse.”

Ace sighed. He sat on the bed and pulled the shorter boy closed to his chest. “It’s okay, Captain,” he said, running his hand on Jonah's shoulder-length hair. “Just let it all out.”

Jonah bit his lips and gripped onto Ace’s shirt, burring his face onto his chest. He let it all out, wailing unapologetically. Deuce also as on the other side, bringing them close while still rubbing Jonah’s back. Grim hugged Jonah around his chest, nuzzling his face onto Jonah’s hospital gown.

The small group never realized someone is hiding behind the door.

Ruggie stood beside the entrance, back leaning against the wall and ears down. In his hand was a wrapped deluxe minced cutlet sandwich that he bought out of habit. He crushed the sandwich in his hand and gritted his teeth. The hyena boy turned around and walked away from the infirmary. He was glaring at each step he took, scaring nearly everyone who passed him. He didn’t stop even when he reached the Hall of Mirror and quickly jumping through the Savanaclaw Mirror. Passing the lounge and hallways, Ruggie stopped when he reached the very back building. He raised his head, looking up at the empty balcony of the Prefect Room.

“I know you’re in there, Leona!” he barked.

No answer.

Well, that didn’t come as a surprise.

Ruggie didn’t talk to Leona since the Magishift, only taking a glimpse at him once when he had returned from the infirmary. He hadn’t come out from his room since then. It was as if there was mutual agreement in the dorm that Leona needed to be left alone for a while. Though none of them specify until when. In fact, this was probably the first time he had ever tried to reach Leona.

“You are really cruel, you know that?” Ruggie tried again. Still no answer. “How long are you going to stay in there knowing that you’ve permanently harmed someone?”

 _What is that lion up to? Can he really do anything without Ruggie’s help? Is he eating well without him carrying his meal? Does he clean his room or is the floor filled with dirty clothes?_ The headmaster had notified him that Leona was excused from any class until he recovers fully. Ruggie clenched his fist. _Why does he care? He’s not his babysitter. He’s…_

Ruggie paused, a shadow cast over his eyes. _What is his role really? Does Leona look at him like he’s his servant? His right-hand man? His friend? What is he to Leona…_

“Senior Ruggie?”

Ruggie looked up toward the sound. Jack walked toward him, looking rather worried. “Are you okay?”

Ruggie breath hitched. _Is he okay? These questions are making his head hurts._ He ran his hand down his face and took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Jack asked again. To this, Ruggie nodded.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He glanced to the side, avoiding Jack’s eyes. “It’s your friend you should be talking about?”

Jack wanted to ask who but then he quickly connected it. “Jonah?”

Ruggie nodded again.

“What… What happened to him? The last time I saw him was during his fever.”

Ruggle clenched his fist. His deluxe minced cutlet sandwich was probably ruined by now. “He lost his hand.”

Jack’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

Ruggie glanced up again. There was still no sign of Leona coming out. He sighed. “I guess Leona’s power completely disintegrated his bone until it’s unrepairable. He had a prosthetic hand now.”

Jack took a step back. _It was that bad?_ He thought they could’ve fixed it with magic. But he should’ve noticed it.

When he was about to visit the infirmary again, the headmaster walked past him, along with a blue-haired senior. Senior Riddle, along with some other seniors, were following them. All of them were looking worried.

_“Senior Riddle.” The red-haired prefect stopped, along with the other Heartslabyul seniors. “What’s going on?”_

_Riddle shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “But Cater mentioned something about an operation.”_

_The orange-haired senior nodded. “Idia was muttering about it. And he looked rather panicky.”_

_“I guess that he’s about to perform a medical operation,” the green-haired senior said and Jack noticed how Senior Riddle clenched his fist._

_“A medical operation? On who?”_

_Riddle bit his lips, unable to answer. The green-haired senior put a hand on his shoulder, running his thumb in a circle to comfort his prefect. The senior looked up, staring straight at Jack’s eyes._

_“On Jonah.”_

“You should visit him soon.” Ruggie’s words brought Jack back to reality. “He’ll need every support he can get.”

Jack nodded. “Thank you, Senior Ruggie. I will.” He was about to turn around, but then stopped. “What about you?”

“What?”

“What are you going to do now?”

Ruggie stared at the crushed sandwich. “I…” He stopped himself from clenching his first again. _If it’s too broken, it won’t look good to eat._ He sighed. “I’ll be around the dorm. Someone needs to round up the pack.”

“Why?”

_Why?_

Ruggie sighed again. He took a few steps back from below the balcony, and suddenly, he threw the sandwich, passing the window, and flew inside the room. _Still no response, huh?_ He turned around, walking toward the lounge. “Because when the king returns, we’ll be ready.”

Unnoticed by them, inside the dark room, Leona’s ears twitched.

He was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the wall. He still looked weak. He wasn’t supposed to leave the infirmary yet, but he just couldn’t stand the room. Not after Farena. Being in the same room as his brother and the victim of his own unthinkable action prove to be too much for him. Right after Farena left and a few minutes to calm himself, he limped out of the room, not even bothering the bruises. He was pretty sure it had gotten worse, but he knows healing magic. He could survive.

_Will he though? After everything he had done?_

He didn’t dare to pick up the crushed sandwich near his hand. He didn’t deserve that. He pulled his knees closer, his forehead pressing onto them. He was aware he was in a very vulnerable position and anyone who entered his room would see his pathetic self.

But right now, he was too tired to think about that.

He just…

_What’s he supposed to do now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who guessed that Jonah will have prosthetic hand, congratulation! You are correct, Sir/Madame!  
> I was going to write more scenes but after some consideration, I decided to move some of the more fluffy interaction in the next chapter.  
> I have to admit, it's kinda hard to write Ruggie here. Since in Canon, Ruggie seemed perfectly fine with Leona after the overblot which is... huh?  
> So... Does this count as a Wham Episode?


	65. Ain't No Time to Deny It, That Is Why We Talking About It! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good idea: This chapter turned out to be longer than I anticipated  
> Bad idea: It took me longer to write than I anticipated

Idia was not used to working with people staring at him. His workshop/dorm room is quite lonely with only him and Ortho. But this time, almost four pairs of eyes were staring at him. He looked up again. Jonah wasn’t exactly looking at him, he was more likely staring to a space. Two Heartslabyul students were there too. The ginger-head was sitting on the bed across Idia, running his hand through Jonah’s hair, while the blunette was watching intensely. The cat curled up on Jonah’s chest.

“There,” Idia sighed once his screen lit up again, signing that programming had completed. He pulled out the cable connector that connected Jonah’s prosthetic hand with his laptop and shut the lid of the arm. After twisting some screws, he tapped the back of the hand. A blue screen suddenly lit up.

“Whoa…” The ginger-head gasped. The blunette also walked closer, standing behind the other with eyes widened in awe. Even the cat perked up and Idia was holding back the temptation to pet him.

He cleared his throat and, for the first time that day, Jonah glanced at him. And suddenly Idia felt like he just wanted to crawl inside his blanket again. “Because y-yesterday w-was s-such an e-emergency, I h-haven’t b-been a-able to u-upgrade t-this h-hand m-more.”

“You’ve done this before?” asked the blunette.

“M-My brother,” Idia answered, twisting the cable around his finger. “Anyway. T-This h-hand is my o-own c-creation. It can be a phone, a widescreen TV, a laptop for one hand, or a mobile hotspot as long as there’s a phone signal. This is also waterproof, flameproof, childproof, anddetachable.Ialsoaddedmorefeatureslikeacanopener,lockopener,systemhacker,andlasercannon.Itcanalsoglowinthedark.Also-”

“Wait!” The ginger-head raised his hand. Idia immediately clamped his mouth shut. “You’re talking too fast.”

Jonah shook his head a little. “It’s alright.” His lips pulled into a small smile, but Idia knew that smile was just for politeness. It felt different than the smile he often saw during their regular Board Game Club meeting. “Thank you.”

Idia gave him a small nod. He started to pack his things but often glanced at Jonah. He was holding his right arm by the beginning part of the hand. He was frowning as his prosthetic hand clenched. He did that repeatedly. It was curious. Ortho didn’t do that when he “woke up” for the first time. Maybe because Ortho was a child and didn’t think that much. Or maybe…

Idia brought his thumb to his lips and started nibbling onto it. _No no no. This is not the time to have a flashback sequence. Or maybe he made a mistake? Maybe the hand is uncomfortable? Is the palm too small? Or maybe too big? Did he screw it right? Or maybe he should change the material to-_

“Senior Idia?”

Idia pulled back his thumb and turned toward Jonah. Despite the tired-looking eyes, there was concern shining through it. “Are you okay?”

Idia quickly nodded. He locked his suitcase and stood up. “If y-you n-need an upgrade o-or any maintenance, I h-have m-my n-number in t-t-the p-phonebook. B-but only for an emergency,” he said, to which Jonah nodded and hummed. “And…” Idia gulped. A faint pink blush appeared on his pale cheeks. “G-Get well soon.” Without waiting for any response, Idia ran out the door.

* * *

“Baby Seal~”

“YOU! STAY AWAY!”

Grim immediately jumped from Jonah’s chest and flew toward Floyd ready to headbutt him. But the older boy just grinned and ducked. Grim eyes widened. He hit the wall with a _*splat*_. Floyd threw himself into Jonah's chest, tackling him on the bed. Azul and Jade, who was carrying a lunchbox, walked into the infirmary, stepping over the unconscious cat.

“You’re awake~!”

“S-Senior Floyd!” Jonah coughed. He reached for Floyd’s back with his left arm, giving him a weak hug. “W-What are you doing here?”

“What? Are we not allowed to visit our sick co-worker?” Azul said, smiling at him. “Glad to see you are okay, Mister Argentum. I would be really sad if I have to lose my top chef.”

Jonah chuckled when Floyd pulled back. “You just want me to pay up all my dept.”

Azul chuckled. “That too,” he said as he pushed his glasses up. “But in all seriousness, we’re glad that you are at least okay.”

Jonah looked up at them in seriousness. “Do you know what happened?”

Azul pulled his hat down, concealing his eyes. So instead, Jade was the one who answered it. “The news had spread that another overblot battle had happened, but the rumors didn’t go in detail on how it happened. Just like when Riddle overbloted.”

Jonah frowned. “How is that possible? There’s just no way that kind of news stays hidden.”

“The headmaster has his way to contain it only in the campus.” Jade put down the lunchbox on the table next to the bed. “We don’t know how, but even the people from the Magishift didn’t mention anything about overblotting. The biggest news is that sudden stampede and Diasomnia winning again.”

“Then how did you know about-”

“Idia wasn’t the best in containing his panic,” Azul answered. “He started mumbling and Cater knew, so Riddle knew, then Jade knew, and all of us are here.”

Jonah sighed. “Can I… Ask a favor?” Azul nodded, so Jonah continued. “If you know who did… This.” He lifted his prosthetic hand from under the blanket. Jonah saw the way Floyd let out a small gasp, Jade’s eyes widened, and Azul glared at the said hand. “Just… Don’t attack or kill anyone?”

“May I ask why?” Azul asked, his voice lowered.

Jonah shook his head. “This is personal. I’m the one who is allowed to decide what I will do about this. Nobody can get involved. It’s just me and him.”

Azul raised his chin, glaring at Jonah as if he was challenging him. The window was opened so the wind blew in, blowing everyone’s hair with its light breeze. It blew Jonah’s bangs from his face and Azul was presented with a glowing yellow eye with a red dot in the center and a few tints of black splatter on it. Azul’s silvery-blue eyes widened slightly. This was probably the first time that he saw what’s under that eye-patch. It was reasonable for Jonah not to wear his usual eye-patch during recovery, but he wasn’t expecting **this**.

Jonah himself creased his brow, trying to figure out why the snarky Azul suddenly became quite. He thought he would get a lecture or even a fun back-to-back exchanged, not this silence. There was a small swirl in Azul’s eyes. Something resemblance to a thin, green smoke…

“Azul?” Jade shook Azul’s shoulder, cutting him out from his trance. Azul blinked a few times. _What just happened?_ Looking up back to Jonah, the smaller boy was blinking confusedly too, his bangs once again covered his eye. _Strange… How peculiar…_

“Jonah!” Grim finally woke up and flew back to Jonah, pushing Floyd away from him. “What did you do to him?”

“Mou~ Don’t be like that, piranha~” Floyd moaned which Grim responded with a hiss. “We’re just here to bring Baby Seal’s lunch.” Leave it to Floyd to change the mood. He reached for the lunch box and opened it. Inside was a simple bent, with rice, fried shrimp with mayonnaise and chili sauce, octopus-shaped wiener, and a small cup of salad. “I made it myself.”

Jonah chuckled. “Looks delicious.”

Floyd smiled widely. “You better eat it all~ I made it with all of my love~”

Jade chuckled behind him. “He woke me up early in the morning just to make it.”

“Jade, shush!” Floyd hissed at him. “You make me look like I can’t cook!”

“But you really can’t”

“Mou~ Jade!”

“Wait!” Grim raised his paws. “I need to make sure this is not yucky or poisonous!”

Floyd's eyes suddenly went dark. Even his voice became lower. “Are you accusing me as a murderer?”

Grim shivered but he stood his ground. “I-I-I just want to make sure! I can’t let Jonah become sicker!”

“Grim…” Jonah softened his gaze toward Grim. “Aww~ You do care.”

Grim cheeks became pink. He crossed his paws in front of his chest. “Hmmph! If you’re sick, who will feed me?”

Jonah laughed. “Alright. Alright, you raccoon.”

“I’m not a raccoon!”

Jonah just smiled. He then reached for one of the fried shrimp and gave it to Grim, ignoring the pout from Floyd. “Eat up, food inspector.”

Grim took the fried shrimp and sniffed it. The Octavinelle Trio made a face as if saying they were disgusted. Grim then nibble at the shrimp, smacking his lips. “It’s not poisonous…” He popped the whole shrimp into his mouth. His eyes widened and he pressed his cheeks. “It’s so crunchy on the outside but tender on the inside~”

Jonah chuckled. He turned to Floyd. “I guess that's a yes from him.”

“Yeah~!” Floyd raised his hands. He then reached from the spoon and scooped some of the rice, along with small bits of wiener. He raised the filled spoon in front of Jonah’s face. “Say, ‘ahh’~”

Jonah leaned back. “I can eat on my own, Senior Floyd.”

The said senior pouted again. “But you said that you’ll do anything for me. So, I want you to let me feed you.”

Jade chuckled. “You did promise that Jonah. No backing down from this. Floyd will keep asking until you do what he says.”

Jonah sighed, but he was smiling. “If you say it that way.” He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. “Ahh~”

Floyd pushed the spoon inside the younger boy’s mouth and Azul must cover his blushing cheeks because _why in the world is this so cute?_ This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by Jade who was laughing at him. Floyd pulled back the spoon, letting Jonah chewed the food. “Hmm… This is good,” he said with his mouth full.

Floyd beamed at this. Immediately, even before Jonah could swallow anything he had scooped more rice and wiener. “Another one, coming up~”

Azul smiled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You’ve gotten yourself in trouble, Jonah. Floyd will definitely repeat this.” Jonah could only huff at this. _It’s not like he has any other choice._

* * *

"That's one cool hand."

Jonah looked up toward the door. A familiar hyena-boy was leaning against the door, wearing his PE Uniform. _Is it his PE period? Did he ditch class for a surprising visit?_ "Senior Bucchi."

The hyena-boy grinned as he walked closer. "Hey, there's no need for formalities. Just call me Ruggie." He took a seat on the chair next to Jonah’s bed. He was staring at his prosthetic hand, a hint of regret reflected from his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

Jonah shook his head, giving him a weak smile. "Surprisingly, no. Senior Idia did a good job."

Ruggie hummed. His ears perked up and he dug his pocket. "Are you hungry?" He took out a wrapped up sandwich. "Here."

Jonah was about to decline but Ruggie had already put it on his lap. Jonah gave him a smile as thank you. Picking up the sandwich, he opened the wrapper slightly. The familiar combination made him looked up to the senior. "Deluxe minced cutlet sandwich?"

Ruggie shrugged. "To make up for the last time."

Jonah chuckled at that. _How long was it since that cafeteria chaos? It felt nostalgic remembering that._ "Thank you." Jonah opened the wrapper further. He brought the sandwich close to his mouth and took a big bite. His eyebrows raised and eyes slightly widened. “Wow. This is good.”

“I know, right?” Ruggie grinned at him. “That’s also Leona’s favorite sandwich.”

Jonah swallowed. _Senior Kingscholar…_ "How is Savanaclaw?"

"We're doing fine. Most of us made up with the other victim."

"And Senior Kingscholar?" Jonah noticed the way Ruggie tensed up. "Is he alright?"

The senior purposely ducked his head, not wanting to see him straight in the eye. "He'll be fine," he said in a soft voice. "He's a tough lion."

"Even lion can have a breakdown sometimes," Jonah said. He clenched his hands. "Are you worried about him?"

There was silence between them for a certain amount of time. Then Ruggie sighed. He leaned back against his chair, tilting his head up to stare at the ceiling "He hadn't come out room since Magishift," he finally answered. "Usually when he needs something he would call me. But now..." He released his clenched fists, once again sighing. "I guess I'm used to be ordered around."

"Why?"

Ruggie let out a chuckle. "Gratitude, I guess." The corner of his lips pulled up, remembering something is a distant past. "I live in the slums of Afterglow Savannah, so you can imagine how many crimes we commit every day. Anyway, when I was a kid, I messed with the wrong group of thieves and Leona... He just suddenly appeared and beat them up."

_"Hey."_

_Little Ruggie peaked up from his cowering corner. He lowered his arms from around his head. The lion cub was standing in front of him, tossing and catching the food that he snatched from the gang groceries. Said gang was now unconscious in that alleyway._

_The lion eyed at the food. "All this for a loaf of bread?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Ruggie. Little Ruggie shook his head quickly which made the lion cub tilted his head to the side. Looking around the alleyway, he saw a small bottle. Ruggie was panicking when the lion cub picked up the bottle and began to shake it, examining the pills inside of it. He glanced at Ruggie and the hyena found himself gulping._

_The lion cub finally sighed. He walked toward Ruggie who pressed his closer to the wall. "Here." He tossed the bread and pills bottle which Ruggie immediately caught it. The little hyena was confused, why didn't the lion beat him up too?_

_But when he looked up again, the lion cub was gone._

"I was really surprised when I found out that Leona is also attending NRC. I just know a simple thank you just doesn't make up for it." He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "He saved my life and my grandma to an extend. So, yeah." He shrugged. "Even if he's w bit messed up right now and we haven't talked at all." Opening his eyes, he gave Jonah a sheepish but sad smile. "I just can't straight-up hate him, you know?"

Jonah's eyes widened. He smiled softly at him. "Leona is lucky to have a friend like you."

Ruggie bit his lips, his ears slightly down. "Does Leona consider me as a friend?"

Jonah let out a chuckled. "He's probably too embarrassed to admit it. But I have a feeling he does."

A small laugh came out from Ruggie’s mouth. “I hope you’re right.” He looked back up at Jonah, brow furrowing. “And I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“You saved me. It cost you your hand.” Ruggie glanced at Jonah’s prosthetic hand again and Jonah uncurled his fist. Ruggie looked back up at him. “Did you regret it?”

Jonah bit his lips, looking down at his hand. “I haven’t decided it.” He sighed and looked back up again. “But, I want to thank you too.”

Ruggie blinked in confusion. “For what?”

“You saved my life back then.” Jonah tilted his head to the side, smiling softly at him and offering his prosthetic hand. “So, we’re even.”

Ruggie's eyes widened. But then he grinned. “How about we start over?” He took the hand and gave it a firm shake. “I’m Ruggie Bucchi. But Ruggie is fine.”

“Jonah Argentum. Captain Jonah Argentum.” Jonah smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, Mister Ruggie.”

* * *

Riddle stomped down the hallway, looking like he was about to murder someone. Everyone made way from the tiny redhead. To be honest, Riddle didn't know what he was feeling. _Angry? Frustration? Worry?_ He still needed to learn many things about emotions. When he reached the infirmary the pushed the door open with a loud _*bang*_ , startling the occupant there. Grim jumped off from Jonah's chest as the boy's eyes widened in shock. Both of them turned toward Riddle who was scowling.

There was a beat.

“Senior Riddle?” Jonah asked. His left hand reached for Grim who hid behind the bed.

Riddle clenched his teeth. “You are an idiot.”

“Eh?”

Riddle frown deepened. He crossed the room quickly and immediately threw himself in Jonah’s arm. He was aware that this was such out of character of him, but he didn’t care. _Jonah is alive. He’s safe for now. He’s hurt, yes, but he survived._

“You’re such an idiot.” Riddle hugged the still shocked Jonah harder. “Who gave you the right to go reckless like that? Stupid captain!”

“Senior Riddle…”

"You don't get to die!" Riddle pulled back. He was staring at Jonah with teary eyes. _Why is he acting like a crybaby?_ He shook Jonah's shoulder slightly harder as he screamed in front of his face. "You hear me, you idiot?! Don't do that again! If you almost die like that again, I'll cut your head off!"

Jonah swallowed, blinked, and then finally relaxed. A happy expression replacing the former shock. And after that, he finally spoke. "I'll try."

Riddle exhaled sharply through his nose. Jonah reached for Riddle's back and pulled him closer. Riddle was pretty sure he was trembling as Jonah hugged him. _This is weird. He's supposed to be the one who does the comforting job, not the other way around._ Riddle buried his head on Jonah's shoulder, his hands gripping Jonah's hospital gown. Riddle didn't have the energy to be mad at him. It was scary back then when Jonah was captured. It really scared him when he listened to his screams. No matter how many times he said that he was pissed about that, he knew he couldn't stay like that for too long. One fact remained valid.

_He cares for Jonah. He doesn't want to lose any of his friends._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t visit AO3 yesterday, so technically this isn’t my fault. Hopefully, today is a double update.  
> I added a small flashback for Ruggie, which was not part of the plan. I kinda like how it turned out. I haven’t really read all of Ruggie’s Personal Stories so I might get some things wrong.


	66. Want You To Get Better! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good idea: Jonah is finally out of the infirmary. Let’s celebrate  
> Bad idea: Another delayed update

"Mister Argentum."

Jonah looked up with a smile. Crowley appeared by the door just when Mister Spencer finished using a last touch of healing with his light-magic. He was sitting on his bed in his fresh clothes, feet dangling above the floor and Grim was sitting on his lap while he was patting his head.

"Are you ready to return to the dorm?" the headmaster asked as he walked in.

Jonah nodded. He looked down at Grim. "I think this calls for a celebration, don't you think? What should I cook?"

Grim's ears perked up. "Well..." he tapped his chin. "I want something with fish in it..."

Jonah chuckled. "Of course you do."

Grim puffed up his cheeks, pouting. "I'm just saying..."

"Wouldn't it be better if he rests a little bit more?" Crowley asked, turning to Mister Spencer.

"While I don't recommend doing heavy lifting and sports," Spencer said as he lowered his hand, along with the dimming light of his necklace. "Young Argentum here needs some practice to get used to his new hand. Little things like cooking would be fine for him."

Jonah rubbed his scar again. It didn't hurt. The nurse did a wonderful job at him. "Thank you for everything, Mister Spencer," he said, smiling and nodding at the grandpa.

"You are very welcome, young man," the old man smiled back. "Adventurous youngster like you better be more careful."

Jonah chuckled. "I'll try." Jonah took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. His feet touched the ground and slowly he straightened up. Grim and Crowley were watching worriedly at him, but he gave him a reassuring smile. And then he took a step. The room swayed a bit and his knees trembled. "Whoa-"

"Careful." Crowley caught him before he could collapse. "This is normal."

Jonah nodded. "Thank you, headmaster." Jonah tried to stand up straight again, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness. He blinked a few times. "No. I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Jonah took another step. He didn't feel dizzy anymore. He gave Crowley a nod, which the headmaster responded with a nod of his own. He turned toward Spencer.

"We'll be leaving now."

Spencer nodded at him. He turned to Jonah again. "Stay save, child," Jonah answered him with a smile and nod. Grim flew toward him, perching on his left shoulder like usual. With that, both student and headmaster walked out from the infirmary.

As they walked, Jonah was glancing around. Sure some students were whispering and looking at his prosthetic hand which he tucked in his jacket’s pocket. But other than that, just like Senior Azul said, nobody was talking about the rumor of Senior Kingscholar’s overblot. Heck, now that he realized that, it had been a long time since he heard people talking about Riddle’s overblot. _How is this possible? Isn’t overblot, like, a huge thing? If the chandelier accident is still being remembered, how come the overblot news suddenly vanished in the wind?_

"You have something in your mind?"

Jonah turned to Crowley. The headmaster was still looking forward though he noticed that he started to walk slower to start this conversation. Taking a glance around one last time, he turned to Crowley again. "How come nobody talks about Senior Kingscholar or Riddle's overblot?"

Crowley’s steps didn’t flatter, but Jonah noticed how the tapping of his cane became louder for some reason. "We have our own ways to stop the news from spreading."

"How?"

It took Crowley a few seconds to answer. "It's a school secret."

Jonah frowned. "But surely you're gracious enough to tell a questioning student."

This time, Crowley did turn his head toward him slightly and Jonah gulped. It was as if the headmaster was glaring at him behind that mask (and he probably was). "I would if it's a different question. This time I have to be stingy."

Jonah was still frowning confusedly at Crowley. _Is the headmaster hiding something?_ But he decided to let it slide for this moment. “Yes, headmaster,” he sighed.

When they finally reached the Ramshackle Dorm, Jonah looked up at the building on top of the hill. He couldn’t help but let out a smile. "Good to be back," he muttered. Crowley smiled and put a hand on Jonah’s back as he guided him to walk toward the said building.

Grim then flew off his shoulder and knocked on the door in a somewhat cheery rhythm. “Is there someone in there?” Jonah asked the cat.

Grim shrugged, but he was smiling a bit too much. “Probably the ghosts.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him, deciding to ask later. When he opened the door-

_*POOP!* *POOP!*_

Streamers and confetti fell onto his hair as the light suddenly lit up. Jonah blinked in confusion at the occupant of the dorm. “Wha-”

"WELCOME HOME!"

The Ramshackle Dorm’s Lounge looked different. Gone was the couch, coffee table, and armchair. In exchange, several picnic blanket was laid on the floor with various delicious-looking food on top of it. Balloons and streamers decorated the entire room, making it more festive. And the people inside…

Ace and Deuce was grinning at him, holding up an empty cone-shaped confetti popper. Cater was recording everything live on his magicam, while Trey and Riddle were there clapping their hand. Even Jack and Epel was there, smiling at him. Far behind, he could see Azul standing next to the kitchen and the twins head popping out from there. Ortho was there too, along with Idia’s tab floating beside him.

“Jonah Argentum!” the robot kid was the first one to move, hugging Jonah around his hips. “We miss you!”

“Guys, it has only been one week,” said Jonah.

“Yeah, but class isn’t the same without you, captain.” Ace gave him a one-sided arm hug. “Your confused faces are always entertaining to watch.”

“And I miss my flight partner,” Epel perked up. “It’s not fun when everyone is slower than you.”

Jack rubbed behind his neck, slightly blushing. “I’m only here to check on you. Glad to know you’re okay.”

“He’s a tsundere…” Idia whispered through his tab.

“We’re celebrating many things!” Cater said, zooming in at Jonah. “Jonah is finally out from the infirmary and Trey is off from crutches.” Trey laughed when Cater turned the camera toward him.

“All in all.” Riddle stepped forward and stood in front of Jonah. He was smiling at him as he stretched out his hand. “Welcome back, Mister Argentum.”

Jonah looked around him, to the faces one by one. _They… Really care, huh?_ He let out a soft laugh and reached for Riddle’s hand, giving it a small shake. “Good to be back, Mister Rosehearts.”

“Alright!” Grim cheered, shooting off from Jonah’s head. “It’s time to celebrate.”

“That is quite correct,” Azul said as he clapped his hand, making everyone turned toward him. Floyd and Jade came out from the kitchen, carrying even more food. “Gentlemen. The feast is served.”

Jonah was pulled by both Ace and Deuce toward the picnic blanket and the boy couldn’t help but laugh at all of this. _They went through all of this, just to celebrate him coming home?_ Jonah still couldn’t believe they did this. _Why would they?_ But as a spoon was held in front of his mouth by Senior Floyd, who sat beside him, Jonah decided not to think too much about it. _He felt pretty hungry actually…_

Crowley watched through the door, having no intentions to join in the group of children. Floyd was trying to feed Jonah again with a red-faced Riddle who kept glaring at him as steams came out from his ears. Trey was trying to calm him down while Jade was just laughing. Azul kept on watching the interesting scene. Deuce was looking at Ace and Cater with concern when they mentioned they like pineapples on pizza. Grim was devouring everything in sight. Ortho can’t really eat, but he was the one who recorded everything with Idia giving him instruction.

The corner of his mouth raised before he closed the door. _The children deserve this._

* * *

The night finally came. Jonah closed the curtain as he turned toward his bed. Grim was sleeping next to his pillow. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to leave Jonah sleeping alone again. After all, he had been sleeping next to him during his nights in the infirmary. And honestly, he didn’t mind. Grim would probably be lonely in this dorm. He sat on his bed and gave Grim a rub on top of his head, making him purr in his sleep. Jonah chuckled before trying to reach for his night lamp. However, once again, it happened.

He was surprised the orb hadn’t been move since the last time he slept here. It was glowing as the sound of thunder echoing from inside of it. Glancing to Grim, he saw the cat didn’t stir at all. _Perhaps he’s the only one who can hear it? Another mystery to be added on the list._

Tapping and twisting the orb, once again it let out the familiar green light, but this time it flooded the room and came crashing into his face like a wave, forcing Jonah to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself swimming in the sea in the middle of a storm. Far ahead he could see a burning ship, threatening to sink. The wave crashed onto him again, forcing him to dive. Jonah held his breath but soon released a gasped when he found something.

A young lady swam passed him. Not just any lady. She had a tail. _A hybrid? No. What’s it called? Oh! A mermaid…_ She swam through barrels and pieces of woods until Jonah noticed a young man was sinking, so the mermaid grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back to the surface. Jonah followed her, breaking the surface with a gasp.

The storm had died down. Far on the beach, he could see the young man was slowly waking up. A dog ran up to him, licking his face as an old man also ran up to him, helping him to get up.

_**"Eric! You really take delight in these statistic strains on my blood pressure don't you?"** _

But the young man kept staring toward the sea, a smile on his face.

**_"A girl rescued me. She was singing. She had the most beautiful voice."_ **

The young man fell backward but the older man caught him.

**_"Eric, I think you swallowed a little too much seawater. Off we go."_ **

He was definitely talking about the mermaid from earlier. _Where was she anyway?_ Looking around, he caught on someone sitting on the rock. It was the mermaid, looking dreamingly at the shore.

**_“I don't know when, I don't know how… But I know something's starting right now… Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be… Part of your world!”_ **

She sang as the waves of the sea hit off of the rock she was sitting on. Jonah had to admit, the young man was right, she had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.

However, he heard a faint laugh. Turning around he saw two eels head emerged from the water, their heterochromia eyes were shining as they watched the mermaid. _Who are they?_ Before Jonah could find out, a wave hit him on the back of his head and he found himself back in his room. The orb in his hand closed up on its own.

“Jonah?” The boy turned toward Grim who looked at him with sleepy eyes. “Are you okay?”

Hiding the orb behind his back, Jonah patted Grim on the head again. “I’m fine. Just go back to sleep.”

Grim purred and curled up again. Jonah sighed. He put his orb on the nightstand and turned up the lamp. As he pulled the blanket, happy with the familiar softness, he closed his eyes. Though a thought interrupted him for a second before he drifted to sleep.

_Those eels... Their eyes were suspiciously similar to Senior Jade and Floyd's..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. This is the last chapter of ‘Jonah in the Infirmary’, but that doesn’t mean we’re done yet.  
> The next two or three chapters will be a Halloween Special since this story takes places in October. It’ll be fluffy or scary or just pure crack, depends on how you guys see it.  
> To prepare this, there won’t be any update today, unfortunately, won’t be a double update.  
> I’ll be writing my author notes for these four chapters on my Tumblr.


	67. Better be Weary and Spooky, and Scary! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good Idea: A premise for the Halloween Special  
> Bad Idea: How does one write Lilia’s Shakespearean speech?

_*thud* *thud* *thud* *thud* *thud*_

"Jonah, stop it. You'll get brain damage."

Jonah smacked his forehead onto his table once again. In front of him were stacks of notes and unfinished homework. Even though he had permission not to attend class because he was sick, the homework just wouldn't stop. "Maybe if I smack my brain even harder I'll be smarter," he grumbled.

"Please don't," Grim mumbled. _Yep, he's losing it._ The cat's ears then perked up. "Maybe some food will help!" Like magic, he created a movement like he was taking out something from his pocket. "Ta-da!"

Black rock was being held up in front of Jonah's face, making the boy backed up for a bit. He frowned as he reached for the rock. "Isn't like the one in the Dwarfs' Mine?"

"Yeah," Grim nodded. He was looking at the stone a bit too intensely as if he didn't what to give it up just yet. "Riddle dropped that rock too." The cat licked his lips. "It's crazy that each rock has a different flavor."

Jonah sighed. It was obvious that Grim was holding back himself. "You can have it."

"Eh?"

"I can't eat rock, you know. Here.” Jonah tossed the rock into the air. “Fetch."

Grim eyes widened and immediately shot up. He opened his mouth widely and caught the rock in his mouth with a "Hap!" The cat hummed, rubbing his cheeks as a light blush formed on them. "Mm~ It’s got a little bit of a bitter and spicy taste! It’s like grown-up food!"

Jonah blinked. "Was it different from Senior Riddle's rock back then?"

“Umm…” Grim tapped his chin before snapping his fingers. “Oh! It got a rather sweet taste, but there’s also a good kind of bitterness mixed in~!”

In turn, Jonah tapped his chin. "Different taste, huh?"

Grim landed back on the table, looking at Jonah and tilting his head. "What are you thinking?"

Jonah sighed and shook his head. "I don't know really. Those rocks always appear after an overblot battle. What does that mean? Not to mention-"

“Captain!” Both Jonah and Grim turned toward the voice. Ace and Duce came running toward them. The ginger-haired boy was carrying a big, stuffed, paper bag.

Jonah shushed them when they reached the table. “Guys, this is a library.”

“Sorry,” Ace whispered as Deuce covered his mouth. “But, captain! You have to tell Deuce that he has to wear a dress!”

Jonah and Grim exchanged a glance, clearly confused. The eye-patch boy raised an eyebrow at him. _What is he talking about?_ But before he could ask for clarification, Deuce punched Ace on the shoulder. “No! Why can’t you wear it?”

Ace turned toward him, grinning. “I am manly as fuck! There’s no way I’m wearing it! It fits you, mama boy!”

Deuce’s face became red, either from embarrassment or anger. “I’m not a mama boy! Why can’t both of us wear the dress-suit?”

“It’s too small for you!” Ace retorted.

Once again, Jonah shushed them, making both Heartslabyul boys turned toward him. “Excuse me. Why are you talking about dresses and suits?”

This time, Ace and Deuce exchanged a glance, before staring at Jonah in confusion. “Have you heard of the All Hallow’s Eve Party?” asked Ace.

“No…” Jonah shook his head. “Was I unconscious during that?”

The other three winched. They still remembered the sight of their unconscious captain and vaguely remember that Professor Divus mentioning about the All Hallow’s Eve Party. But neither one of them was excited, perhaps a bit disappointed on Ace and Deuce’s side since they were speculating that they won’t be able to attend it in favor of being there for the captain. But once the captain woke up and slowly recovering, plus the exciting discussions of costume among the student, the two of them were once again in the mood, especially now that Jonah and Grim were able to attend the party with them.

“Well, it’s basically a costume party tomorrow,” Ace said as he put the bag on the table. Jonah pulled the bag down slightly to take a peak and he could see some well-made fabric in that bag. Ace continued as he sat on the table, “Back home, children usually dress in costume and go house-to-house saying ‘treat-or-treat’ and the owner of the house will give them candy! That’s like the best holiday ever! Free candy that will last a week…”

“Free candies!” Grim shot up from the table, floating in excitement and twinkling eyes. He turned to Jonah, grabbing his collar and shaking it lightly. “Jonah, we have to do that! I need a costume!”

“My brother just sent some costume to me for the three of us! I even ask him for a dress since the theme this year is ‘Heroes & Princesses’!” Ace grinned as he patted the bag. “But Deuce here doesn’t want to wear the dress.”

Deuce groaned as he ran his hand down his face. “Again, why should I be the one in the dress?”

Ace blew a raspberry toward him. “You’ll look pretty in those!”

“I-” Deuce blushed again. “I’m not supposed to be pretty!”

“Oho, what’s with all of this excitement?”

A boy suddenly appeared between them in an upside-down position, making the boys screamed in surprise. “GAH! The kid!” Ace scattered back, nearly knocking down Jonah’s homework, and pointed accursedly at the boy.

Senior Vanrouge turned toward him, a smile on his face. “Kufu, young man, that’s not the way to speak to thy elders.” He glanced toward Jonah, giving him a nod. “I’m delighted to until are doing well, Little Star.”

Jonah opened his mouth but nothing came out. _Little Star? Wait. Isn’t that what the horned dude called him? He’s from the same dorm as Vanrouge, right? Maybe he can ask him about that boy…_

Vanrouge sighed, cupping his cheek with his right palm and his left held his right elbow. “Ah, yes~ it’s just wonderful knowing that we don’t want to try some sacrifice 'i this age. It had been terrible would we hast to relive those times.”

Jonah blinked at this. “Sacrifice?”

Vanrouge perked up at this. “Oya? you’ve ne'r known of the ‘tale of the unfortunate sacrificial flower’?” When he saw that the children were staring at him with a clueless look, his smile widened. “Well, we can’t hast that.”

He jumped and turned his body around, landing his feet on the ground gracefully. He clapped his hands. “Gather around, children.” He ushered Deuce to sit beside Jonah as if this were a kindergarten’s storytime period. “Papa Lilia is about to say to a spooky tale.”

Ace raised an eyebrow at the senior. He leaned to Grim who sat beside him and whispered. “Papa Lilia?” The cat just shrugged at this.

Lilia cleared his throat and clapped his hand again. Jonah acutely aware that the room around him suddenly became dark, with the only light source came from under Senior’s Vanrouge chin, as if he was holding up a flashlight under his face, giving him a spooky feel. “Once, from a time long hence, back at the time when magic was feared and witches ruled the welken, there was an corky provincial town which had a terrible tradition. Thou see, children, once 'i every blue moon, a powerful evil witch befell the town and sucked the souls of the children for children’s souls are witches’ favorite meal. To prevent this, the town aye prepared a sacrifice: a soul of a virgin at the age of 17.

“One generation, a young flower wench named Maryanne was chosen as the sacrificial maiden. Despite her crying and begging, the village only turned a seel eye upon'r. Except one; a young lord named Ludwig, whom was 'i love with the wench. Towards the night of the blue moon, when the evil witch came and sucked the soul right of Maryanne, Ludwig appeared and threw a blue flame toward the witch, killing her under the moonlight. Wherein the witch’s soul left the corporal agent. Maryanne ate the soul, for only those whom hast a revengeful soul is able to try that. Base Maryanne’s soul couldn’t return to her corporal agent. Hence, generations after that, Maryanne kept wandering around the village.

“Yet don’t let this bittersweet ending fool thou, children. O no. The story is not over yet. Generations later, magic became moe acceptable 'i society’s eyes, and a new generation of magicians was born. Yet , for base, dear Maryanne, whom still hated magic and magicians, this was a beshrew, watching young children making magic 'i the street so carefree while she was hiding from it. Envy and jealously consumed her, and she became the one thing she was most afeard of: an eater of magical children's soul.

"Once again, the town was filled with fear and, once again, some one needed to forbear it. This time, a young woman named Selene, the issue of Ludwig, took the route to seal the vengeful soul inside an ancient golden chest. And yet , Maryanne swore that one the night of the blue moon, on All Hallow’s Eve, a virgin of age 17 would ope the chest and released her. And would they doth, she shall feast of the soul of young magician around the little town!”

Lilia screamed at the end of his sentences, in turn, making younger students screamed too. The cat immediately clawed to Jonah’s back.

“T-T-That’s just some story!” Ace retorted, but clearly, from his trembling voice, he was also terrified. “There is no way it is true.”

“Oh, haply thou hast a skeptic mind, young man,” Lilia giggled as he squinted his ruby eyes. “Yet some say that the land where the corky provincial town once stood is the same land that the current Night Raven College is standing.”

“Eek!” Grim squeaked, holding hard onto Jonah’s head. “That means this ground is cursed! I knew it!”

“So, there might be a chance that Maryanne’s chest is inside the school?” Jonah asked.

The other three turned at him in shock while Lilia just raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “Captain, what are you saying?” demanded the ginger-head.

To their surprise, Jonah turned his head toward them with twinkling eyes filled with excitement. He was smiling too widely for them. Even when he jumped from his seat to turn toward them was like a kid who just received their All Hallow’s Eve candy. “Oh, come on, guys. Aren’t you curious or something?” he asked in a slightly loud voice as if he couldn’t contain his excitement. “It’s like a treasure hunt!”

“A spooky treasure hunt…” Deuce whispered. It was as if he was having a flashback from the Dwarfs’ mine.

“Kufu, whom knows, young man?” Jonah turned toward Vanrouge who was smirking at him. “Haply thou might find it.”

That only made Jonah even more excited for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually made a post that on my Tumblr of what the TW boys might wear during Halloween. Since I always refers the trio as ‘Golden Trio’, it’s only fair that they would dress up as Harry (Jonah), Ron (Ace), and Hermione (Deuce), and to add the spice, make them dress in the Golden Trio’s Yule Ball costume (which means Deuce must wear Hermione’s pink gown). In addition, Grim would be wearing a cloth like Dobby.
> 
> To see the full list, go here: https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/post/624590765786529792/heroes-princesses-night-raven-college-2020


	68. Unspeakable, Spookables, Awful, Unlookables! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: I'm giving slight moments for some ship tease  
> Bad news: The Board Game Club may or may not had started the chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Putting it up here)  
> (If you're curious about my (nonsensical) reasoning, check out my Tumblr post: https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/post/624590765786529792/heroes-princesses-night-raven-college-2020)
> 
> List of Costumes:
> 
> Jonah: Harry Potter, Yule Ball dress-robe (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)  
> Ace: Ron Weasley, Yule Ball dress-robe (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)  
> Deuce: Hermione Granger, Yule Ball Dress (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)  
> Grim: Dobby (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret)
> 
> Jack: San (Princess Mononoke)  
> Epel: Alice Margatroid (Touhou Project)  
> Sebek: Martel Yggdrasill (Tales of Symphonia)  
> Ortho: Kizuna AI (Kizuna AI)
> 
> Riddle: Vivaldi (Heart no Kuni no Alice)  
> Trey: Lancelot Kingsley (Ikemen Revolution)  
> Cater: Alice Baskerville (Pandora Hearts)
> 
> Leona: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Part 1 (Fire Emblem: Three Heroes)  
> Ruggie: King George III, Act 1 (Hamilton: An American Musical)
> 
> Azul: Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4)  
> Jade: Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)  
> Floyd: Riddle Rosehearts (Twisted Wonderland)
> 
> Kalim: Prince Ali (Aladdin 2019)  
> Jamil: Jasmine, the pink one (Aladdin 2019)
> 
> Vil: Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess)  
> Rook: Link (Hyrule Warrior)
> 
> Idia: Kaito (Vocaloid)
> 
> Malleus: Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)  
> Lilia: Kurumi Tokisaki (Date A Bullet)  
> Silver: Data Riku (Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded)

For a so-called ‘spooky costume’, Jonah felt that this was more suited for a formal party. The dress-robe was black but has a white formal shirt part on the chest with a white bowtie. It didn't come with a pair of shoes, but he also got a round-glasses.

“You wear an eye-patch and glasses?” Grim asked from his position on top of Jonah’s bed. His costume only consisted of one long rag (which Grim commented made him look like a hobo) that barely covered his shoulder and no sleeves. “Isn’t that a bit redundant?”

Jonah just shrugged. “Who knows?” His answer was muffled because he was currently biting on his hairband. “The glasses came with the costume so of course, I need to wear it.” He wore the glasses, surprised that he didn’t feel dizzy. Perhaps the glasses had a neutral lens. Grabbing his hair, he decided to tie it into a low bun instead of his usual ponytail, just for a small change.

“There.” Jonah looked at his reflection again. _Not bad actually._ Nodding to himself with satisfaction, he turned toward Grim. “Ready to go?”

Grim grinned and jumped to Jonah's shoulder. “Yeah! Free candies for us!”

* * *

Nearly every corner of the school ground was decorated with crafted pumpkin, ghost and spider theme decoration, and beautiful orange tint light. Boys in costumes, some even wear dresses and high heels, filled the main street since the party was held in the gym. Jonah was standing near the statue of Queen of Hearts, noticing there was one small burn mark that couldn’t be scrubbed off. He was playing with his new hand, trying to understand the system inside it. Ortho had given him the manual written by Senior Idia, but the gibberish inside of it was even more complicated than his potion textbook.

“Oh, Jonah!” A deep voice called him.

Looking up, he was Jack and Epel walking together, which was understandable since they are in the same class, they probably spent more time together. Looking up and down at them, Jonah concluded that they were probably the ‘lucky’ half from their respective dorm who was chosen to wear a dress.

Epel’s dress was blue with white laces at the end and a pink ribbon around his waist. He had a white cloth on his shoulder which was tied with a pink ribbon around his neck. He also wore dark brown boots and a red bandana. Meanwhile, Jack’s costume was wilder. He wore no shoes or gloves but wore a black ribbon on both of his upper arm. He also wore a plain sleeveless white shirt, a dark blue skirt that reached his knees, and a red wolf mask connected to a white fur like a cape.

“Nice skirt, guys,” Jonah chucked, which resulted in a blush coming from the two.

Jack rubbed behind his neck. “It was an agreement in Savanaclaw that all first-years must wear a dress.”

Epel, meanwhile, just looked pissed with cheek puffed up like a chipmunk. “All Pomefiore just ganged up at me and forced me into this.”

“You’re not the only one.”

Everyone turned to the newcomers. Deuce was looking miserable while Ace not that much. Deuce, with bits of his hair tied in a ponytail, was wearing a pink dress that reached the ground, and from the way that he had trouble walking, probably from wearing heels. Ace meanwhile wore a brown fur coat with pink laces on the sleeves and shoulder areas over a checkered brown shirt with white-lacey collar and black bowtie, also a pair of black boots.

“I don’t know how Prefect Roseharts walks on this,” Deuce whined as he lifted his dress slight and, just as they had thought, he was wearing white high-heels. “And his heels are higher.” He glared at Ace. “I’m blaming you if I twist my ankle tonight.”

“Gck! Aw, come on! You can’t do that!” Ace retorted. “Didn’t you practice with Cater yesterday? You’ll be fine.”

Grim whistled. “Now, this is what I call a ‘princess’.”

“I’M NOT A PRINCESS!” Deuce screamed.

“Please, I don’t want to cut someone’s head on a celebration.”

Riddle walked up toward him, followed by Cater and Trey. Riddle was wearing a red dress with heart motives and a crown on his head. For the trio, it kinda reminded him of his overblot’s form. Trey was wearing a white uniform and a red cape with white fur on his right shoulder, along with a white hat. Cater meanwhile have twin braids, wearing a long coat, red above and white below, with a big white bow on his chest, white gloves, and white boots.

Cater squealed at the first years. “All of you look adorable. Let me take a selfie!” Cater took out his phone and raised it above his head, catching everyone. Motioning for everyone to gather around (Ace pulled a very embarrassed Deuce), Cater raised a peace sign, followed by the others striking their pose. “Cheese~”

_*click!*_

“Great picture, guys!” Cater immediately posted it, tagging everyone on the group. “Come on now, we will be late for the dance.”

“Dance?” Jonah repeated.

Cater nodded. “After the mandatory for a dance, prefect first then everyone must join the dance before the real party started.”

“But the headmaster excluded both you and Leona,” Riddle added. “So, you don’t have to worry.” Jonah nodded.

“Who knows?” Trey pushed his glasses up. “Maybe both of you can dance in the next turn.”

Ace and Cater cooed at this. “How romantic~”

Riddle's face became as red as his dress. “D-Don’t tease me!”

Jonah just shrugged and smile. “Actually, that sounds like fun.” Riddle’s face just became redder, followed by laughter from the others.

* * *

The door to the gym opened and Prefect Rosehearts, along with the other prefects, walked in hand-in-hand with their respective partner. Prefect Rosehearts, of course, went with Vice Prefect Clover. Same as the Pomefiore and Scarabia Prefect. The Octavinelle Prefect went with the other eel twin (which Deuce was rather curious because that boy dressed in a perfect replica of Prefect Rosehearts’ Dorm Uniform), while the Ignihyde Prefect went with his little brother. Though, even if you exclude Savanaclaw and Ramshackle, it seemed like they were missing someone…

Cater walked up to Deuce and stood next to him. “Well?”

Deuce turned toward him. “Well, what?”

Cater glanced at the dance floor before looking back at Deuce. “Aren’t you going to dance?”

“I don’t think I can in this dress.” Deuce sighed, his hand scrunched his dress.

Cater giggled. “Nah, you’re just not confident enough.” He put an arm around Deuce and pointed at Riddle and Trey. “See those two?” As part of the dance, Trey lifted Riddle by the waist. Deuce blinked in amazement. “They’re perfectly fine.”

“They’ve practiced.”

“Those two don’t.” Pointing at another couple was the Diasomnia Vice-Prefect in a gothic Lolita dress along with the silver-haired boy in a black coat. Deuce clearly remembered them. Though the silvernette seemed like he wanted to bury himself alive while the vice-prefect looked like he was having a good time.

“Come on.” Cater suddenly pulled his hand. “Let’s do it.”

“Senior Diamond-Whoa!” Deuce nearly trip on his dress if Cater didn’t catch him. Cater just chuckled and took his position in the dance. Deuce was tripping in almost every step and bumping into other dancers, which was hilarious.

* * *

“Are you glaring?”

Ace looked up at Jonah who walked toward him. Ace rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not.”

Jonah chuckled and leaned to the wall next to the ginger-head, watching their bluenette friend trying his best to match the pace. “You want to dance?”

Ace clicked his tongue. “Cih, like heck I’m gonna do that.”

“Oh, come on, you’re already dressed for the occasion.”

“This thing?” Ace gestured his dress-robe in disgust. “I look like my grandma’s dress.” He smelt the sleeve, gagging. “I was pretty sure it smells like one.”

Jonah just rolled his eyes and chuckled. Looking back at the dance floor, some had started joining in with their partner, while some stopped. He was pretty sure Senior Idia left the dance floor along with Ortho and he had guesses on where he was going.

Glancing at Ace he could see how he was staring straight at Cater and Deuce. It was just so obvious that he wanted to join in. Jonah once again rolled his eyes. “Come on.” He walked behind Ace. “Don’t be shy!”

“Whoa-” Ace felt himself being pushed to the middle of the dance. Tripping, Cater noticed this and immediately grabbed him.

“Oops! Switch partner!” Without missing a beat, Cater let go of Deuce’s hand and immediately replaced them with Ace, making them holding each other. Ace and Deuce just stopped. Ace tilted his neck upward a bit, just now realizing that Deuce was slightly taller with those heels. Their chests were pressing against each other and both of them could feel their fast heartbeat, whether from exhaustion or embarrassment, and saw the blush on their cheek.

“Ow!” Someone bumped behind Ace, who glared back. Snapping back their situation, he could see on the side that the captain and Cater exchanged grins before he waved and exited the gym.

“The captain ditched us,” he grumbled.

Deuce was panicking. “What are we supposed to do-Whoa!”

Ace pulled Deuce aside from bumping into someone else. Ace looked around. The music was still playing and he could feel someone (probably Riddle) glaring at him from behind.

“You remember the steps?” Ace asked looking at Deuce as he started to move.

Deuce shook his head. “No…”

“Ugh…” The ginger-head sighed. Looking around, there was no way out. “Then, we’ll go freestyle.”

Ace lifted Deuce and spun him, the blunette immediately grabbed onto his shoulders in surprise. Following his observation, Ace took Deuce’s hand and stepped forward and backward. An awkward dance between them, compared to the older and more expert students.

As they dance, Ace could felt himself grinning. He may have never attended a royal ball or even a plaza dance, so he never realized how fun this was. Deuce saw his grin, slowly smiled back. No longer has he complained about the heels and skirt. His steps became more confident as he led Ace took the lead.

Nonetheless, it was a fun, dare they say, enchanted night.

* * *

“I knew I would find you here, Senior Idia.”

Idia jumped in his seat as Jonah walked in. Idia was wearing some sort of white coat that reached his knees over a black shirt, dark blue trousers, and high-knee boots, along with a long blue scarf around his neck. Meanwhile, Ortho was on his white robot body, but he was also wearing a white-and-pink shirt with disconnected white sleeves with a black-and-white bowtie and short white skirt, along with white-and-pink high socks and a digital pink bowtie on his head.

“J-Jonah,” Idia squeaked, hiding his game console behind his back.

Jonah gave him a reassuring smile and walked toward him. “Are you bored at the party?”

Idia shook his head. Ortho was patting his shoulder for reassurance. “Just… It was overwhelming.”

Jonah hummed. To be honest, he hadn’t seen Idia outside of Board Game Club, so he never really get the actual grasp of what kind of person Idia is. He was fidgeting a lot right now. Looking around, Jonah spotted the closet they use to keep their board game.

“Hey.” Jonah put a hand on Idia’s shoulder, slight frowning when the senior flinched. “How about we play a game?”

Ortho perked up. “Yes. A game! We can do that! We have our own little party!”

Jonah chuckled. “Let me see what game we haven’t played.”

Idia nodded. His shoulders weren’t tense again, so Jonah took it as a good sign. Walking toward the closet, he opened it and knelt. Most of the unused board games were usually on the bottom row. As he searched, the door to the classroom was opened and closed again.

“So, the Board Game Club is having a meeting without me?”

Turning around slightly, he saw Azul walked in along with Grim. Azul was wearing a dark blue coat, checkered trousers, brown shoes, and a hat. It kinda made him look like a detective or police.

“When I noticed the captain isn’t in the gym, along with the Ignihyde Prefect and his little brother, it was an easy conclusion,” Azul said walking up to his fellow prefect. "You better have a good explanation for making me walk all the way to an empty school in the middle of the night."

"Nobody is forcing you," Idia pouted. “Why are you here anyway?”

Azul pushed his glasses. “I was a bit disappointed not being invited to the party. Perhaps this is how Malleus feels all this time.”

“We’re going to play a game!” Ortho cheered. He turned to Jonah, shouting, “Can we get a spooky one?”

Jonah chuckled. “Let me find something first.”

Grim landed inside the closet, deciding to help with the search. “Geez, so packed up here,” he mumbled. Sniffing around, and sneezing occasionally because of the dust, Grim was trying to look for the oldest box inside. _The older it is, the scarier it becomes, right?_

His sniffing stopped when he found something at the back. It was an old golden box with ancient writing on it. Picking it up, Grim shivered. _This box is bad news. Perfect!_

“I found something!” Grim cheered as he flew out of the closet, followed by Jonah standing up. He put the box in the middle of the circle.

“Cool…” Ortho picked up the box, turning around the box, inspecting it. “What game is this?”

Azul hummed. “I’ve never seen this before.”

Jonah was grinning. _So exciting!_ “We shall see…” Taking the box from Ortho, Jonah slowly opened the box, ready for a surprise.

_And, oh, what a surprise he got!_

A bright white light came out from the box, making Jonah fell back screaming and covered his eye, dropping the box. All the electrical lights in the room blinked several times before exploded.

“Jonah!” Azul quickly knelt, hugging Jonah to protect from anything. Grim hid close to Jonah’s chest. Idia did the same, got down as he hugged Ortho.

“What’s happening, Big Brother?” cried Ortho. But Idia couldn’t answer.

White and light green smoke came out from the chest and flew to the air. It started to form itself into the shape of a young woman. With a ghostly shrieked, the smoke exploded, revealing a transparent young woman with a wicked grin on her face.

“Ah! What a wonderful time to return!”


	69. Cover Your Eyes, Little Buddy, Beware! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: We have a confirmation that Jonah is a virgin  
> Bad news: Now his first kiss is threatened to be taken

The ghost/spirit/unidentified-being took the form of a beautiful young woman. She had long green hair with yellow on the tips and light blue eyes. Her ‘dress’ looked like a very thin bathrobe with laces. They could see her undergarment: white bra-top and white panties, both were fancy enough for a wedding. In addition, she wore a veil with white roses on her head, a yellow-and-pink pearl bracelet on her right wrist, a beautiful pearl necklace with a blue pendant, and a red collar with a cut-off chain attached to it.

Jonah's eyes widened, finally realizing something. _Could this be that ‘Unfortunate Sacrificial Flower’ that Senior Vanrouge told them about?_

The soul-spirit – _Maryanne_ , Jonah remembered – looked around the room. “Golly gosh~ Everything looks so different now,” she said. “Haah~ I remember this was an open place for flowers to grow. Oh, how much times had changed.”

She then looked at the ground. “Well, well,” she cooed, looking at the trembling children one by one. “What do we have here? Had you, young magicians, come do give your soul to me? Ah~ I remember those delicious screaming souls. Such despair~” The corner of her lips pulled up. “But, before I feast, I need to guess first.”

She flew lower. “Which one of you is the 17 years old virgin who released me?” She tapped her chin and hummed. She glanced at Idia, who pulled Ortho closer.

She scrunched up her nose. “Blegh. You look too old.”

Looking Ortho, she clicked her tongue. “Ugh. No pedophilia, please.”

She turned around toward the next group and Jonah felt Azul’s hand gripped him harder. Raising an eyebrow at Azul, the soul-spirit huffed, “Definitely not a virgin.”

Azul let lout a noise, obviously offended, but she ignored him. She noticed Grim being hugged by Jonah. The cat was hissing at him. She visibly gagged. “Not interested in bestiality.”

And finally, her eyes landed on Jonah. She hummed in satisfaction. “Yes… Yes. You must’ve been the one.”

Jonah kinda wanted to smack his head. _He didn’t think this through. You think, after the whole overblot and losing his arm might make him more careful? Or maybe he just lost many brain cells in there._

She raised her hand and Jonah’s body started to glow. All of a sudden, he felt himself floating as if someone pulled him. For a spirit, Maryanne's hand felt pretty solid when she held his chin. “Hmm… Such a cute face. A bright-eyed young man.” Her thumb moved, caressing his lips. Her smile widened when he frowned and tried to pull back. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve never been kissed before, mister~”

Jonah didn’t need to answer. Just from his scrunching brow, Maryanne had already known. “Ah~ I’m so lucky! Such a pure boy!” She tilted his chin upward and she brought her face closer. “It’s unfortunate your first kiss would me you last, young man.” She giggled. “Let’s see how sweet your soul is going to be…”

 _She’s going to eat his soul! Of all the things that could get him killed, why this? This is a stupid way to die! He really didn’t think this through!_ Jonah tried to trash his head, avoiding the approaching pink lips. It was coming closer and he could feel his heart beating faster. He was pretty sure his vision slowly became blurry. _Is he really losing his soul? Don’t come closer. Don’t come closer. Don’t touch-_

“FUGYAA!”

A ball of blue fire suddenly shot between their head, breaking the connection. The glow around Jonah's body suddenly stopped and, like before, he felt himself falling.

“AAAAAAAAAA!”

Azul moved quickly. He had no time to take out his magical pen. He ran toward the falling captain, catching him in his hand and toppled to the ground, both boys groaning in pain.

“Guys, run!” Idia shouted, carrying Ortho over his shoulder. Azul and Jonah stood up, immediately ran out of the room. Grim managed to fly out first, followed by Jonah. Azul ran out last, closing the door. Ortho set up his flamethrower system, burning the door with a blue flame.

“We need to warn everyone!” Idia cried. “There are hundreds of virgins in that gym!”

“Yeah! Let’s make everyone panic by saying that someone released a soul-sucking ghost!” Grim shouted and Idia looked hurt when the cat shouted at him.

“We need to lure her away from the crowds!” Jonah yelled back. “That flame won’t top her for that long!”

“We were taught how to summon spirits, not exorcising them!” Idia snapped back.

There was a sound of circuits turning on from Ortho. His pupil and yellow iris went wild before stopping, blinking in focus. “I know a spell!” he shouted. “It’s a really hard spell, and we’re going to need to brew a potion!”

Azul nodded. “To the magical pharmacy, it is then! And hurry!”

However before they could even run away, Maryanne had passed the wall, clacking at them. “You really think you can banish me just like that?” She sniffed the air. “Mmm~ The air smell like a feast.” Her smile widened into a sickening smile. “Tell me… Where can I find naughty magicians like you?”

Jonah growled at her. “You stay away from them!”

Maryanne giggled. “Oh, boy. I’ll feast on you last. Ta-taa~”

“Wait-” But Maryanne had already disappeared. Jonah screamed in frustration. “Dammit!”

Azul huffed. “Jonah, you need to hold on-” He walked toward him, raising his hand, but Jonah smacked it away.

“No!” Jonah looked really frustrated right now. “We don’t have much time left! That ghost is going to suck everyone’s soul and it will be my fault! If we don’t do something-”

Suddenly, Azul caught his cheeks with both of his hands. Their face was only a few inches away from each other. “Look at me, captain.” The senior’s voice was stern. “Just take a deep breath and focus on me.”

Jonah’s breathing became slower and calmer. He was still clenching and unclenching his fists, it was wrecking him. Azul sighed softly. “We can take her down. All we need if a plan.”

 _A plan? Yes. He’s good at that. He can make plans._ Slowly Jonah took off his round-glasses, throwing it aside before reaching once again for his eye-patch. “You’re right.” His lips pulled up a small smile. “Thank you I need that.”

Azul smiled back, patting Jonah’s cheek once. “Anything for you, dear captain.” He stepped back. “So, what’s the plan?”

Jonah took a deep breath before ripping off his eye-patch. He could hear Idia let out a gasp from seeing his eye for the first time. But he didn't have time to give him a vague explanation. They need to save the others. “This is your captain’s order.” He turned toward Ortho. “Ortho. You know what the recipe required, right?”

Ortho nodded. “Yes! I know the exact amount and ingredient.”

Jonah nodded, satisfied. He looked up Azul. “Azul. I need you and Ortho make that potion.”

Azul pushed his glasses back. “On it.”

He turned to Idia who squeaked. “Idia. You and I will lure the ghost from the gym to the magical pharmacy.”

Idia pointed at himself confusedly. “You need me?”

Jonah nodded. “Both you, Ortho, and Grim has that rare blue flame. In Senior Lilia’s story, the witch was killed with a blue flame and Maryanne herself looked terrified when Grim shot his fireball.”

Grim’s ears perked up. “That’s right!”

“But how are we going to lure here?” asked Idia again.

“Just like how she moves. If she flies, then we must fly as well.” He grinned at Grim. Grim grinned back. He raised his paw, a magic circle appeared beneath him.

“ ** _[Accio]_** _,_ ** _[Roy Mustang 2003]_**!” The familiar broom suddenly came flying fast toward him. But Jonah smirked and successfully caught it without smacking his face again.

“Nailed it,” he muttered, genuinely proud of himself. He turned to Idia. The senior took a deep breath and let it out through his mouth. He took out his Magical Pen and pressed a button on it. Like a digital effect, it suddenly turned into a floating skull. Idia closed his eyes and the skull flew in a circle around him.

Idia snapped his eyes open. “ ** _[Accio]_** _,_ ** _[Arwing]_**!” In just a second another broom appeared and Idia caught it with ease.

Jonah and Idia mounted their broom and Grim perched on Jonah's shoulder. “All hands on deck, fellas!” Jonah yelled. “Time to exorcise that ghost!”

With that Jonah, with Grim, and Idia blasted off, while Ortho and Azul took off toward the opposite direction. _The mission starts now!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly a letdown. I wish I can add more. There was also supposed to be a small dialogue but I had to cut it because I don’t know where to fit it. Hopefully, the next chapter will be more satisfying.


	70. Those Thrilly and Chilly Old Willys Will Rise! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: We have a new party member  
> Bad news: How does one write a ghost chase scene?

Amidst the loud music performance by the Light Music Club and the sea of dancing students who were jumping to the beat, nobody realized that Leona had slipped into the gym. Look, he had told himself that he would join in this stupid All Hallow’s Eve party, he had the headmaster's permission. But there was something about the silence in the Savanaclaw Dorm that made him came. Which was weird. _He likes quiet places, they are always good places for napping, but why can’t he sleep that night?_ _How annoying._ He even wore his stupid costume: black knight-like uniform with a blue cape and silver boots.

“Leona…?” Leona turned toward the familiar sound. Ruggie stood not far from him, wearing the same costume as last year: red suit with a red cape and black-spotted-white fur among the edge, knee-high socks, brown shoes, and a big crown on his head. Leona remembered last year Farena gave him that disgusting costume so he gave it to Ruggie. _Which… Why is Ruggie still wearing it? Doesn’t he have another costume? Why this? Only to fit the theme or something else?_

Leona gave him a nod of acknowledgment. “Hmm.”

“You’re here.” Even Ruggie sounded shocked at Leona’s appearance.

“Yeah.” Leona huffed, running his hand behind his head.

Ruggie blinked. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Leona shrugged. “Me either.”

“Oh.”

…

 _Well, this was awkward._ They hadn’t been speaking since Magishift and for the first time, so Leona didn’t know what to say. Both of them leaned against the wall, watching the rave of students. The Light Music Club switched song again, this time more heavy metal. The Diasomnia guitarist slammed his guitar to the stage and the Scarabia drummer crashed the cymbal.

“Having fun?” Leona asked. Ruggie turned toward him in surprise.

He shrugged. “Sort of. The food is nice.”

…

Leona glanced at Ruggie. “You’re wearing the same costume as last year?”

“Hmm?” Ruggie looked down at himself. “Oh. Yeah.”

“Don’t you have any other costume?”

Ruggie bit his lip, his hand playing with his cape. “I like this costume. I’m pretty small so I can fit this for a long time.”

“Why that though?”

Ruggie was silent for a while, but Leona could see his lips pulled up into a soft smile. “You sort of gave it to me. So…” He turned his head slightly toward him with that small smile, a light blush on his cheek. “There’s no way I won’t wear this.”

Leona blinked at him. _How… Why does he act like that? There was no way… Even after that whole shouting match and them basically tried to kill each other, why does Ruggie still act like this? Why is he still willing to accept him as if he didn’t do any of those bad things?_

“You-”

The air suddenly smelt different.

Leona's ears perked up when he caught the sound of a candle went off next to him. Ruggie ears also twitched, but unlike Leona, he couldn’t smell the strange magical smell. Looking around cautiously, Leona's eyes wandered from every corner in the room to the ceiling.

That was when he saw it.

Light green smoke came in through the opened window just above the stage. None of the students noticed it or they noticed but didn’t know how to respond just like Leona. The smoke risen, forming itself into a shape of a human figure.

“What’s is that?” Ruggie now realized it too, along with the majority of the students. The light flickered until it exploded, earning gasps and the music stopped. All eyes were on the smoke as it suddenly burst, revealing a cackling woman ghost.

“Aaah~” she moaned, inhaling a deep breath. “Oh, my~ So many young magicians here~ Such a banquet!” He looked down at the students and Leona suddenly found himself moving to stood in front of Ruggie. “I don’t know where to start~”

Murmurs of confusion and fear filled the room, which made the ghost grin even wider. “Ah~ I want to gobble all you up!” She hugged herself, mouth wide as if she was drooling. “Can I~? Can I~?”

She wiggled her fingers and thin lines of smoke came out from the tips. The sweet smell of magic burnt Leona’s nose. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand. _Who is this lady? What is she talking about?_ Glancing behind him, Leona’s eyes widened. Ruggie stood still like a statue, head tilted up toward the ghost, mouth slightly opened and eyes glazed. The smoke from the tips of the lady’s fingers flowed into Ruggie's mouth, slowly changing color from green to blue.

“Ruggie! Ruggie!” Leona shook the hyena’s shoulders but he didn’t respond as if he was cut off from the world. Panic started to fill the room. He caught the Heartslabyul seniors were trying to snap their prefect out from the hypnotic state as well, Malleus’ younger guard was shouting to the older one, and Vil was practically slapping his hunter to wake up.

The ghost lady laughed. “Ah~ So many young souls ~ You magicians have the most delicious soul of them all~”

Leona growled at the ghost lady. Slowly he took out his magical pen, gripping it hard to turn it into his staff. The yellow gem glowed and he aimed at the ghost. He knew this was risky, especially after his overblot. But he had to do it. _Nobody touches the King’s-_

_*CRASH!*_

The window of the gym suddenly broke. Two broom riders crashed into the room and one of the riders of the broom immediately shouted, “ALL VIRGIN HIT THE DECK!”

Without hesitation, Leona pushed Ruggie down, knocking the crown from his head, as the other broom rider shot blue fire from the floating skull he had. The ghost eyes widened and clenched her knuckles, ducking to avoid the coming flame. Sparks rained down from the ceiling.

“You donkey!” she screamed. “You ruined my dinner!”

Jonah glared back at the ghost. “If you want to eat, then eat mine!” He gave her a lopsided grin, wiggling his broom. “Come on~ 100% virgin~”

“Food shouldn’t fight back to its consumer!” She let out a shriek, so loud that all the windows and lamp broke. Leona kept covering Ruggie underneath him, shielding him from the raining glass pieces.

Ruggie suddenly took a sharp intake of breath, followed by him coughing, as if he just emerged from the water or just risen from death. Once the coughing stopped, Ruggie looked up, still in a daze, at the lion above him. “Leona…?”

Explosions happened in the background. The ghost, Idia, Jonah, and his cat flew around the room, knocking the decorations and nearly crashing into other students. Jonah clicked his tongue, looking at the damage. He turned to Idia who flew past him. “We have to get her out of here!” Idia nodded, countering another attack from the ghost.

Jonah flew to the window he got in from. “Hey, Maryanne!” He blew a raspberry toward her. “Come and get me!”

“I’ll get you, you virgin brat!” the ghost screamed, flying in rage toward Argentum, but he and Idia had already left. Students were still in peril or just woke up from their stance, including most of Jonah's little crew.

Leona growled. _That brat sure loves to cause trouble no matter where he goes. Someone needs to keep him in line._ Without a word, Leona stood up, walking toward the door.

“Leona!” He felt Ruggie’s smaller hand around his wrist. Looking back, he saw Ruggie looked unfocused, his body was swaying dangerously as if he had a really bad migraine.

“You stay here!” Leona pulled his hand away, but Ruggie quickly grabbed his blue cape.

“No!” Ruggie shouted in panic. “I won’t leave you alone! You’re still hurt-”

Leona spun around and grabbed Ruggie’s hand, pulling them closer until Leona could felt Ruggie’s breath on his face. “Ruggie, I’m the king,” he growled, but there wasn’t any hint of malice in there. “You listen to me!”

Ruggie gasped. He bit his lips before sighing. He lowered his hand and Leona let go of him. He released his clenched fist, whispering with his head down, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Leona paused for a moment, fingers twitching to touch the hyena. But he clenched his fist once again, holding his back. He ran out of the gym, blue cape fluttering behind him as he followed the trail of smoke in the sky, not looking back at Ruggie who stayed at the entrance with his ears down.

* * *

The magical pharmacy was just as chaotic as the gym. With only two students brewing the potion, along with the ridiculous list of ingredients, Ortho and Azul were exhausted. The cauldron was burning hot, green water boiling to the brim and Azul didn’t stop string the content carefully so his sweat didn’t drop in and ruin it.

Ortho flew in with ingredients in his hands. “These are the last ones.” He put the first two ingredients in. “Neck of bottle. Tail of goat.”

Ortho and Azul chimed together as Ortho held up the last ingredient. “Whisker from a Billy Goat!” Azul took the whisker as Ortho stepped back. Holding up to the cauldron, Azul let it go and immediately stepped back with Ortho. The whisker touched the potion and an explosion of yellow, green, and purple smokes burst from the cauldron.

Once the smoke dimmed down, a light came out of Ortho eyes, scanning the cauldron for a few seconds before letting out a _*ping*_. “Yes!” he cheered. “The potion is perfect!” He raised his hand, and even when they were in a sticky situation, Azul couldn’t help but gave Ortho a hi-five.

Taking out his magical pen, Azul tapped the cauldron. The smoke from the cauldron swirled around his magical pen before turning the gem into yellowish-green color.

“Remember the spell?” Ortho asked.

Azul nodded. “Yes.” All the need now was-

_*BANG!*_

“INCOMING!”

Jonah and Grim came flying into the magical pharmacy, with a really angry Maryanne behind him. Idia came in and immediately skidded to a stop, landing next to Ortho. “Quick, exorcise her!” he yelled.

Azul nodded. A magic circle appeared beneath his feet. He aimed his magical pen at the flying ghost carefully so Jonah isn’t in his line of fire. Taking a deep breath, Azul began his chants. “ ** _[O Errantes Spiritu Supra Inferna... Exilium Perpe-]_** “

However, Maryanne caught up with this. Stopping in midair, she shot out her hand toward Azul’s magical pen, sending an invisible force toward them. Azul's magical pen suddenly flew out from his hand. “My wand!”

She shot out her other hand toward the cauldron. It suddenly turned upside down, spilling all the content.

“The cauldron!” Ortho cried. Idia held out his hand similar to a gun toward Maryanne, his magical skull shot blue fire follow his aim. But Maryanne kept avoiding it.

“Stop ruining my time, you leftovers!” she shrieked. She shot out her hand toward the group and none of them could escape her sudden smoke-cloud attack. Azul, Ortho, and Idia started coughing, but the smirking Maryanne once again wiggled her fingers. The smoke became thinner, swirling around the three boys. Their hands became slack and their eyes glazed over. The smoke entered their opened mouth, slowly sucking the souls out of the body.

“Stay away from them!” Jonah and Grim came in fast. But Maryanne shot her hand toward them, sending a smoke-cloud at them. Jonah and Grim coughed, never realizing that their broom had dropped to the floor and they were separated from each other. Grim dropped to the floor in a similar stance as the other boy while Jonah was held up in the air, trying his best to escape by kicking and screaming.

“Ah, ah, ah~” Maryanne gripped his chin harshly. Jonah was glaring at her while she just kept on smirking. “If you keep struggling, I’ll speed up the process!”

She turned her head toward their captures and wiggled her unused hand’s fingers and the blue light from the rest of the Board Game Club came out from the body. “Once their soul touch my fingertips, there’s no going back to their body. And if I don’t eat them, they’ll be a soul ghost like me. Such a waste of food, isn’t it?”

She turned back to Jonah, realizing he had stopped kicking. “You care about them, don’t you?” She caressed his cheek and Jonah tilted his head to get away from the hand. Maryanne pulled his ear, earning a yelp from him. “Be a good supper and serve yourself on a silver platter, then I’ll let them go.”

Jonah clenched his trembling fist. _What is he supposed to do? They’re all trapped in this ghost’s game._ He glanced at his friends. Their souls had slowed down, but they were still floating toward Maryanne’s finger. _They’ll die if he doesn’t do something._

Jonah let out a defeated sigh, lowering his head. “Fine,” he whispered. “Release them first.”

Maryanne smiled and flicked her hand. The soul returned to their respective body, but the smoke never leaves their mouth. Before Jonah could protest, Maryanne grabbed him by the hair on the back of his neck, forcing him to tilt his head up, looking straight and Maryanne’s hovering face.

“You know, nobody will get hurt if you just give yourself up in the beginning. Is the mess really worth it, you stupid virgin boy?” She licked her lips. Jonah tried to shook his head, but he didn’t even realize that Maryanne's smoke had entered his lips. His vision became blurry and his movement became sluggish, slowly became limp.

_*BOOM!*_

A column of earth suddenly appeared between the ghost and the boy. The boy’s body fell to the ground but someone immediately caught him in their arms. All of Maryanne’s smoke-string had been cut off, releasing all the boys from their paralyzed state.

“Ugh! Why can’t I have one quite dinner?!” Maryanne glared at the column, then at the newcomer. She pinched her nose, looking at him in disgust. “Geez, you smell like an old cat!”

Jonah took a sharp intake of breath and slowly blinked. _He survives?_ Looking up tiredly, he saw a familiar lion cradling him in his arms. “Senior… Kingscholar… Why-”

“I’m not doing this for you.” Leona gently (something very out of character from him) laid Jonah on the floor, before walking up Maryanne, gripping his staff. He slammed his staff to the ground and suddenly pillars of earth appeared surrounding Maryanne, trapping her in a tight space. But Leona knew this wasn’t enough. “Idia! Burn it!”

Idia, from the ground, shot out his hand toward the pillars. His magical skull beeped many times before it shot out blue flames.

“AAARRGH!” Maryanne cried. Her dress and hair started to catch on the fire. “You insolent pussycat!”

Azul ran toward Jonah, cradling the smaller boy. “We need a cauldron full to do the banishing spell,” he said, his hand on Jonah while he looked up at Leona. “We don’t have enough time to make another one!”

Leona just smirked. “That’s where you’re wrong, Octo Punk.” Azul flinched at this but Leona ignored him. He recognized the smell of the brew, so he knew what spell he needed to use. He had learned this spell when he was little after all. “A magician should know how to make use of their unfortunate circumstance in their favor.” 

The stepped into the puddle of the potions. He tapped his gem to the liquid and summoned a wide magical circle, underneath him and Maryanne. The liquid started to rise in the form of bubbles, surrounding Leona who held his staff with both of his hands. Waving his staff in a circular motion, the lion closed his eyes, chanting the spell with a voice filled with confidence. “ ** _[O Errantes Spiritu Supra Inferna...]_** ” He snapped his eyes open. “ ** _[EXILIUM PERPETUUM!]_** ”

All the liquid was sucked into his gem and a beam of yellow light shot out from his staff, hitting Maryanne straight on the chest. “AAAAARARRGGHHH!” The ghost slowly disintegrated, leaving only sparkles of light on the spot where she once floated.

The soul ghost was no more.

Jonah looked up to Leona who rested his staff on his shoulder. He let out a sigh of relief. “You did it… Oh, my stars…”

“Right on time too,” Leona said, glancing at the window. The formerly dark blue has turned purplish-blue with a hint of orange and yellow. Dawn had arrived. This was a brand new day.

Leona sighed. He turned around and walked out from the ruined magical infirmary when he heard footsteps behind him.

“Senior Kingscholar!”

Tilting his head to look behind him, he saw Jonah stood there slightly trembling. Leona looked at the boy from top to bottom, his green eyes caught a glimpse of something metal on his hand.

He looked forward again, huffing. “Go to bed, herbivore.” He stepped away from the building. Guilt setting in his stomach.

_He did that. He really did that._

_“How long are you going to stay in there knowing that you’ve permanently harmed someone?”_

_He doesn’t know, Ruggie. He doesn’t know._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry for the delay. It turns out this chapter was really hard to write. I was really distracted these days and I have very little idea how to write a ghost chase scene. So, again, sorry for a disappointing chapter.
> 
> I… To be honest, the Leona/Ruggie scene sort of came out of nowhere…? But it could be seen as romantic or platonic.
> 
> Also, after some browsing, I found out that Jonah, who is confirmed to be a 17 years old virgin by All Hallow Eve’s, is a few days older than the Leech Twins whose birthday is on November 5. This also makes him the oldest between the first year gang. 
> 
> But anyway, the next chapter will be the final for the Halloween Special Mini Arc! After that, it’s off to a collection of training montage and Leona’s long-awaited heart-to-heart talk.


	71. And Who Better?! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good idea: These heart-to-heart talks with Jonah is comforting to write.  
> Bad idea: A missed opportunity for a dad joke from Crowley.

“I can walk, Senior Azul.”

“Your soul was nearly taken twice tonight,” Azul answered, not even glancing back to Jonah who he was giving a piggyback ride back to the Ramshackle Dorm. “The possibilities of you collapsing are quite high.”

Jonah rolled his eyes. After the whole chaos that was Maryanne, Jonah really just want to go to bed. Both Ortho and Grim were sleeping. Idia took Ortho back to Ignihyde while Azul offered Jonah to take him and Grim back to Ramshackle Dorm, and no, he didn’t take no for an answer. In conclusion, all five of them were tired and didn’t want to argue this early in the morning.

Watching the sky slowly turning brighter, Jonah let out a yawn and rested his head on Azul's shoulder, carefully not tilting too much unless he wanted Grim, who was sleeping on top of his head to fall. The Octavinelle Prefect let out a chuckle. “Do you still feel sleepy?”

Jonah hummed. “We woke up all night long. I don’t want to go to school.”

“Don’t worry. Usually, we have a day off after All Hallow’s Eve.”

“Good…” The captain let out a sigh. “Riddle is going to be pissed. Scratch that the whole crew is going to be pissed.”

Azul hummed. “The Heartslabyul sure cares a lot about you. Riddle especially.”

The corner of Jonah’s lips pulled up. “He needs all the friends he can get. He has been through a lot.”

“So you see him as a friend?”

“Aren’t you all?”

Azul turned his head slightly so his eyes could catch a glimpse of Jonah. “Yes. But what I mean is, do you ever have any special feelings toward him? Or someone else?”

Johan’s brow scrunched. “Uh…” He blinked confusedly. “I…”

Azul bit his inside cheek before looking forward again. “How about we change that question: What Maryanne said. Was that going to be your first kiss?”

“I… Think so.” Jonah scrunched up his brow again. “I mean. I’ve read fairytales so, at least from what I remember, I haven’t had someone smooching my face like that.” He scratched his cheek with his index finger, a light blush dusted his cheeks. “I mean… Isn’t than kinda intimate?”

Azul let out a chuckle and shook his head. “So, she’s serious that you’re a virgin. I’m surprised, Captain.”

“I guess so…”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I don’t… Really understand about those sexual kinds of stuff. First kiss. True love kiss. Deflowering. Being a virgin.” He sighed. “I… I guess because I don’t know what to expect, I can’t really imagine it.” He puffed out his cheek. “I’m kinda scared now to have my first kiss if it’ll be just the same as what Maryanne would do.” He let out a light chuckled. “I’m weird, aren’t I?”

Azul let out a sigh. “No. Not at all.”

Jonah hummed and rested his head on Azul’s shoulder again. The trip to Ramshackle Dorm was quiet after that. Azul was kind of surprised that they hadn’t seen any student passing by, or at least Jade and Floyd or any of the Heartslabyul students. He heard soft snoring behind him. Looking back he saw Jonah already closed his eyes. _Poor guy._ This All Hallow Eve’s was a complete mess anyway.

Reaching toward Ramshackle Dorm, Azul opened the gate. The sound woke Jonah up. He blinked his eyes and looked up. “Oh. We’re here.”

“We sure are,” Azul said. He walked up to the building on top of the hill, only stopping when they reached the stairs. Jonah wiggled behind him so Azul took that his signal to put Jonah down. He let the captain slid down his back and he walked to the front door, Grim cradled in his arms.

“Thank you, Senior Azul.” Jonah smiled. “I’ll see you at work.”

Azul tipped his hat. “No problem, Jonah.” With that, he walked away back to his dorm.

Jonah sighed and took out his key to the dorm. However before he could put it into the keyhole, the door was opened from the inside. Looking up, he saw the bird-mask man, in a sleeping gown, complete with the pointy sleeping hat and a pair of bedroom slippers.

“Headmaster?”

Crowley stepped aside to give Jonah a way to enter. “Come in, Mister Argentum.”

Jonah gulped and walked in. Looking around… _Was it just him or the lounge room looked… brighter?_ He could’ve sworn the room had glittered with pixie-dust. The lounge table was filled with various cakes, stacked on a tray just like during a tea party at Heartslabyul, steam was coming out from the teapot but it smelt like chocolate instead. 

Lou, Sou, and Barret suddenly appeared in front of his face. _Wow, it had been a long time since Jonah noticed them._ At least the first night when he returned, they weren’t there to wake him up. _Were they giving him space?_

“We’ll tuck the cat to bed!” Lou said. Before Jonah could protest, Barret whisked Grim from Jonah’s hand, cradling him like a baby close unlike those millions of times they teased him.

Lou came up to him, whispering to his ear. “I think you’re in trouble with the headmaster.”

Jonah inwardly groaned. “Yeah. No kidding.”

Lou gave him a comforting pat on the head before the three ghosts flew to the second floor. Jonah looked back at Crowley. He was already on the armchair, pouring the hot chocolate from the teapot to the cup. Jonah took a deep breath and let it out. He slowly walked toward the lounge chair sitting the furthest from Crowley.

“Here. Have some chocolate.” Crowley offered the cup on the saucer to Jonah. The boy slowly picked it but made no movement to drink. “Do you like cake?” Crowley picked up one of the cakes from the tray: chocolate in the inside with white icing and a cherry on top.

To be honest, Jonah was terrified. Crowley was acting like this was an ordinary tea party. And yet, there was a very uncomfortable air between them. Biting inside his cheek, Jonah finally asked, “Headmaster… Are you mad about me?”

Crowley hummed before picking up his cup and saucer. “Well, I was going to let it slide this once because it was All Hallow Eve’s and I am so kind.” He took a sip but for some reason Jonah could felt his eyes under his mask were staring straight at him, sending a shiver down his spine. “But it’s now November 1, so I can no longer do that.”

Jonah bit his lip. _Oh yeah. He’s angry._ Crowley lowered his cup and continued. “It also seems troublesome of how much you attract trouble despite you’ve been in this for only two months. With two overblots and a missing limb.” Crowley noticed the way Jonah’s prosthetic hand clenched around his cup. “What makes you keep going and think so little of your life, Mister Argentum?”

“I…” The boy stared down at his chocolate. “I guess... Because this is the only thing I can do.”

When Crowley tilted his head slightly, Jonah sighed and continued. His index finger kept tapping on his cup. “I don’t have any memory, remember? I’m basically just a blank slate back then.”

His lips curled up a bit. “But then Grim, Ace, and Deuce appeared and Ace called me 'captain'…” He stopped tapping and bit his lip again. “I guess something just clicked inside of me. It’s like... Is that what am I supposed to do?”

He slowly raised his head toward Crowley, smiling ever so softly, but the headmaster could see that determined glint in his eyes. “So, I just hold it. It’s my role. It’s the only thing that keeps me going. I care for them, support them, and I don’t want them to get hurt. I’ll lead them through the storm without casualties and will find the sunken treasure. That’s why. Until I’ll find the true purpose of my role, I’ll keep what was given to me.”

Crowley stared at the boy. “That’s a heavy job for you.”

Jonah shrugged, giving him a grin. “I survived two overblots, headmaster. I can handle anything. Because… If I’m not the captain, then who am I?”

Crowley nodded. “Then, you can’t get hurt too much."

“I know.” Jonah stared down at his prosthetic hand. “I haven’t really know who to operate his hand. I can’t tell the difference between how to activate the laser cannon and turning into a carrot peeler.”

“You can have a private lesson with Mister Shroud, but I’m talking about your fighting skill,” Crowley said, making Jonah look up at him again. “I know I’ve said before that you are perfect as the commanding role and others will follow and definitely protect you, but you still need to do self-defense. So that even when you don’t have Grim on your side, you are not helpless.”

Jonah hummed. “I guess you’re right.”

“Then, because I’m so kind, I’m giving you a gift of a lifetime~” Crowley suddenly cheered. He put down his cup and stood up from his seat. He gleefully spun his walking stick. “I’ll be your private tutor!”

Jonah blinked. The heavy air was suddenly lifted. It was easier to breathe now. _But still. What’s with the sudden change?_ “What?”

Crowley stopped spinning his stick and tapped the ground once. He walked toward Jonah, stopping at the empty space on the lounge chair next to him. “You can’t use magic, but I can see you will do well with a sword. I’m a sword wielder myself. I can teach you the basics and more!”

Jonah's eyes widened once he finished processing everything. “Y-You will?”

“Of course.” Crowley laughed. “Aren’t I gracious~?”

The boy stood up in excitement, bouncing on his toes. “Thank you so much, Headmaster!”

Crowley laughed and put a hand on his head. While it did stop the bouncing, the big smile of Jonah's face was uncontrollable. The headmaster flicked his finger onto the boy’s forehead, earning a small “ow!” from him. “Yes, yes. However, last night you went against the doctor’s order. You aren’t supposed to do ‘heavy lifting and sports’ and fighting a ghost is definitely 'heavy'. So, I’ll have to bench you until I say so, then we can start our training.”

Jonah winched. “I guess that’s sound fair.”

“Ah ha ah~ We’ve made a compromise!” Crowley laughed and put an arm around Jonah. He guided him so both of them sat back on the lounge sofa. “Now, I’m sure you are hungry and tired, so have a slice of cake then go to bed.” He picked up the slice of cake from earlier, and with a snap of his fingers, a small candle appeared on top of it. “Don’t forget to make a wish.”

Jonah chuckled and received the place of cake. He rolled his eyes up, thinking about what he should wish. To be honest, his life was pretty alright despite all this chaos. Sure he was missing his past memories and then there was that pirate ship dream…

_Ah… Maybe he’ll just wish for an exciting mystery-solving adventure in the future. What’s life without a little festive?_

He blew the flame and the candle suddenly shot up to the sky, exploding into colorful streamers. Jonah laughed at this as Crowley ruffled his hair.

_Happy 17th birthday, captain…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it’s DONE! Finally!  
> Sorry for the delay, but we’re finally done with the Halloween special! Man, the pacing in this Arc reminds me of those days of writing the prologue.  
> Anyways, the next chapter is Leona’s therapy! Now, I’ll be doing some research for a while and writing ‘Behind the Fic’ for this mini Arc.


	72. I Can Hear You Breathin'! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: The long-awaited Therapy Episode has arrived!  
> Bad news: I know nothing about chess.

“Haha! My guess is correct!”

Leona, who was laying on his bed with his back facing the balcony and wasn’t really sleeping, turned his head to see the annoying raccoon floating next to his bed. He rolled his eyes, knowing that this wouldn’t be good for him. “What do you want?”

The raccoon grinned. Both of his paws were on his hips and he puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m here to bring a very important message!” He cleared his throat before spoke with the lowest pitch he could, trying to sound like a royal messenger. “You’ve been invited to the Ramshackle Dorm for a tea party.”

Leona groaned, rolled back to his original position. “Get lost. I’m busy.”

Grim blinked. “With what? Moping around?”

Leona curled up his fist. He suddenly sat up and grabbed the raccoon by the bow, earning a yelp from the small animal. “Listen here, you raccoon,” he growled, “Then tell your prefect I can do what I want.”

The raccoon didn’t look afraid at all. He glared back at Leona. “You can’t just say no to this!”

“Yes. I can. Now, fuck off!” Leona jumped off from his bed and walked toward the balcony. Gathering his strength to his arm, he threw the raccoon as far as he could. The raccoon didn’t stop screaming through his ‘flight’. He crashed through the lounge roof and into the pool.

Ruggie immediately jumped back when he heard the loud splash. “What the-!” He was about to reach for his magical pen when a familiar cat head appeared. He raised an eyebrow at him. “Jonah’s cat? What are you doing here?”

Grim spitted out the extra water from his mouth. “I’m trying to get that lazy lion out of his bed. Jonah wants to talk to him.”

“Talk?” Ruggie frowned. He sighed. “I don’t think you can.”

“What?”

“I tried, okay?” Ruggie ran his hand through his hair. “No matter what, I just can’t make him come out.” His hand ran down his neck as he sighed. “I want to thank him personally after that All Hallow Eve’s.”

Grim blinked before swimming to the edge. He shook off the water from his skin and heat himself up for a quick dry. He flew toward Ruggie, floating in front of his face. “Can’t you use your _unique magic_ on him?”

Ruggie blinked. “I… I haven’t try.”

“Oh, come on, please.” Grim brought his paws together. “Jonah can help us! It’ll either be you or I’ll have to burn him and his room.”

Ruggie winched. “Don’t do that.” He looked down at his boots, considering his options. _Maybe Jonah can help. He was the one who helped the Tyrannical Riddle, can he do the same for Leona?_ He bit his lips. He knew he was out of option. _Maybe this is their only chance…_

Finally, Ruggie sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you.” 

Ruggie and Grim positioned themselves near Leona’s room, with Ruggie standing as the entrance while Grim flew to the balcony again. Leona was still lying in the same position, this time with his eyes closed. Grim was grinning widely as he cracked his knuckles. “You asked for this~” A magic circle suddenly appeared in front of him as he shouted, “Fugyaa!”

Leona’s ears perked up and quickly jumped out of his bed, avoiding the blue flame. “What the fuck?!”

“If you don’t get out of this room…” Grim grinned as he puffed up his chest. “I’ll roast ya!”

He spitted out his flame again and once again Leona dodged it. He was about to gripped to his magical pen, but Grim shot him his fire again. Without any much choice, Leona ran out of the room. When he stepped the ground, a yellow magic circle suddenly appeared underneath him. Leona’s eyes widened and he turned to the side, where Ruggie was gripping his magical pen.

“Ruggie-”

Ruggie shut his eyes and he declared, “ ** _[Laugh With Me]_**!” All of a sudden, Leona felt like strings tied around his body, feeling like it was too heavy to even lift a finger. He gave Ruggie a sideways glare. “Ruggie!”

“Sorry, Leona,” Ruggie said and a nearly monotone voice. “It’s for our own good.”

* * *

Jonah just came out from the kitchen while carrying a tray of finger sandwiches when the front door was opened. Grim came in first, looking very proud, followed by Ruggie and Leona, who both had magic circles in every step they took. Grim closed the door and locked it before flying next to Jonah. Knowing that they couldn’t escape unless they wanted to cause trouble, Ruggie stopped his magic, yellow magic circles disappeared like dust.

“Oh, Senior Kingscholar,” Jonah fakely smiled. “What a pleasant surprise~”

Leona growled. “This is your plan, isn’t it?” he asked. “If you want to meet me so badly, why can’t you be the one who goes out?”

Jonah’s eye twitched. “The headmaster and I spoke about this.” He let out a sigh. “After that whole All Hallow Eve’s night, he said that I can’t leave the dorm until he feels I'm good enough. And apparently, he has the ghosts on his side.”

Leona raised an eyebrow at him. “He grounds you?”

Jonah shrugged. “Pretty much.”

The corner of Leona’s lips was pulled up. “Heh. This is the first time hearing a pirate being grounded.”

Jonah rolled his eye. “Har har. Very funny.” He turned toward Grim. “Grim, why don’t you and Senior Ruggie hang out in your room?” he asked as he gave the tray to Grim. When the cat accepted it, Jonah leaned closer to his ear. “Tell him that it’ll be fine.”

Grim nodded and flew toward Ruggie. They exchanged in a nearly silent voice until Ruggie nodded and followed Grim upstairs. Leona frowned at the eye-patch boy.

“So, what do you want?”

Jonah shrugged again. “Nothing really.” Leona huffed, but Jonah then walked toward the lounge table where a board of chess along with its pieces was set. Jonah glanced at Leona. “Do you play chess?”

Leona stared down the board before looking up at Jonah again with a raised eyebrow. “Yes. Why?”

Jonah hummed. “Figure. With you being a prince, you probably like some kind of strategic game.”

“Huh. You actually have a brain,” Leona commented, shoving his hands into his pants pocket. “Or just merely a lucky guess.”

Jonah ignored the comment and sat on the floor in front of the white pieces. “Then maybe you can teach me some tricks.”

“I’m more into destroying my opponents rather than teaching them,” Leona said, though there was a small chuckle at the end.

Jonah smirked, eye squinted, challenging him. “Oh? Show me then.”

Leona smirked back. He would never back down for a game of chess. It reminded him of the happier time in his early childhood… _Before everything turned bitter._ Leona clenched his fist. _No. He can't think of that again._ Walking up to the table, he sat down in front of the white pieces. Jonah made his move first, then it was Leona's turn. The game only lasted for a while. It didn't take Leona ten minutes to beat the captain.

Jonah let out a huff. “That was quick.”

Leona smirked. “You can’t tell the difference between the knight and the bishop.”

“I’m still a beginner. Can’t you tell?”

“It shows.”

Jonah rolled his eye but he still chuckled. He picked the pieces again, arranging it for round two. “How come you beat me that fast?” he asked. “You play a lot?”

Leona hummed. “I’ve learned chess since I was a child.” He picked up his black king. “My grandpa and nanny taught me this. It’s actually a stress reliever.”

“You’re close to them?”

“Probably the only people who aren’t afraid of my power,” he said in a low voice. Jonah paused at this, looking up at Leona as he put the black king on its square.

“Grandpa always said a good chessplayer must keep his king out of the range of possible check by an opponent,” he said in his usual voice. “At the same time, he must fool his opponent by provoking him to make moves that will later prove to be wholly unfounded.”

Jonah blinked. “Is that why you decided to cheat on the Magishift?”

Leona frowned at him, fingers curled up around his rook. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”

“No.” Jonah raised both of his hands. “I just want to know why you did that. There are plenty of kings and their throne in the world. Why chasing after Malleus Draconia?”

“It’s pretty simple, really.” Leona looked at the board. It game was set. Taking the first turn, he moved his pawn as he continued, “If you take down Malleus Draconia, one of the top five magicians in the world, and possibly the best magician in school, how would you feel?”

Jonah hummed as he moved. “Pretty awesome actually.”

Leona grinned. “Exactly. And imagine how the world will see. The great Malleus Draconia, the future king of the Valley of Thorn, beaten by the Second Prince of Afterglow Savana. Not only will it bring great shame to that dragon’s kingdom, but my kingdom will finally see me as something, not just the Second Prince.”

Jonah watched as one of his pieces was eaten by Leona’s. He looked up at the older man. “Is that what you want?” he asked. “Fame and acknowledgment?”

“Yes,” Leona answered, without looking up. “What else do you want?”

“I would probably want someone who genuinely appreciates what I did, no matter if I win or lose.” Jonah’s knight ate one of Leona’s pawn. “Do you have someone like that?”

Leona picked up his bishop, brought it near his chin as he examined the board. “No.”

“What about Senior Ruggie?”

“He’s only there to do my chore.” Leona finally placed his bishop, eating Jonah’s rook. “He keeps coming back and I just can’t seem to get rid of him. Might as well let him do whatever he wants.”

“What if he genuinely wants to help you?” Jonah moved his queen. “What if he sees you more than the Second Prince?” He looked up at Leona. “You really think Senior Ruggie cares about your crown?”

“Of course, he does. Everybody does.” There was a hint of growl at the end of the sentences. Jonah noticed Leona was gripping onto his pawn a bit too hard. “The Second Princes have no role in the kingdom. They’re only good for a political marriage. I bet once I graduate, Farena would ship me off somewhere for a marry someone I don't even care about.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Leona slammed his fist to the table. The impacted knocked the pieces off the board. With a loud roar, Leona gripped onto Jonah’s collar, bringing their face closer. “You know nothing about me, you Pirate Scum!”

“That’s why I want to know!” Jonah shouted back. “I want to know why a great magician like you so desperate for attention!”

“Because I never have one!” Leona snapped. “Do you know what it feels to be compared with someone else? No matter how hard you try to be the best child, everyone won’t even look you?! They would only look at me when I get in trouble!”

His fist was trembling as he lowered his face, unable to look at Jonah straight in the eyes without him noticing they started to tear up. "Not because I've learned my Unique Magic when I was still seven years old, way younger than when Farena discovered his! Not because I’m the top of my class in every subject compared to Farena who got detentions more than I! They even looked disappointed when I was accepted to Night Raven! They want me to be in a preppy school, just like Farena!”

Leona raised his head again. Tears dripped down his cheek. Sadness and anger shone from his eyes. “DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS?!” he roared to Jonah’s face. But the boy didn’t even flinch. Jonah's eye softened but he didn’t dare to move his hand.

“What do you want, Senior Kingscholar?” he asked, voice softer than before. “How do you want to feel?”

“I just…” Leona let go of Jonah's collar. He bent down, both hands on the floor and he looked down, tears dripping to the wooden floor. “I want them to see. I can do it too. I can do better. I want them to clap for me. I just need…”

“Acceptance?”

Leona chocked up. Jonah stood up from his seat and walked toward Leona crouching next to him as he put a hand on his knee. The older lion flinched but didn’t make a move to brush the hand off him.

“I’m so pathetic,” Leona whispered.

“No you’re not,” Jonah retorted, gentle rubbing Leona’s thigh. He sighed. “I may don’t know how it feels to be compared with someone else, but I know that warm feeling when someone accepts and care for you.” He squeezed it lightly. “You’ve never felt that warmth, have you?”

“Not since grandpa died and nanny went away,” Leona answered as he shook his head. “I always showed my best grade to them first, not even bothering to tell my parents. When grandpa died, I would often sneak into his old bedroom when I’m sad. But dad soon locked it.” Leona bit his lips. _Why is he acting like a big baby? He’s not supposed to cry. He’s not supposed to tell his whole back story to this kid._ But the dam had been broken. He couldn’t stop now. _He just…_ He just needed this to get out from his chest.

“Nanny Vanni too,” Leona continued. “She was like a mom to me compared to my real mother. She took care of me, even taught me how to sew. She was there and I’m happy. But when she suddenly resign, I just… I had nowhere else to go.”

Jonah hummed. “You must’ve felt pretty lonely, huh?”

Leona unconsciously nodded. “I just want someone to be there for me… Not because I’m a rich guy, but because of the whole me. Just accept me the way I am.”

He didn’t dare to lift his face. He couldn’t let anyone stare as this pathetic face. He heard Jonah scooted his position and the hand left his thigh. Leona would be lying if he didn’t miss that warmth from the hand immediately.

But instead, he felt something touched his back. “You feel me?” Jonah asked from behind.

Glancing behind, he saw Jonah sat behind him. Their back pressing each other. “Huh?”

“Lean back,” Jonah said. Leona frowned, but he did that. Jonah was smaller than him, so he could feel the back of his head was touching his shoulder. “Comfy, isn’t it?” Leona has to admit, he liked the warmth that came from the back. “It’s nice to have someone to lean on. Quite literary, am I right?”

He sighed. He tilted his head up as he closed his eyes. “Yeah…”

Jonah hummed again, smiling softly even though he wasn’t sure whether Leona saw him or not. “You have people who care about you and look up to you. There will always be a back ready for you to lean on to.”

“He’s right, you know?”

Leona opened his eyes and saw Ruggie standing next to him. Hands behind his back and had a small smile on his face. “You’re… Still here?”

“I can’t leave you alone, Leona.” He sat on the floor next to Leona, his smile never left his face. “Not now. Not ever.” He grabbed Leona’s hand, cradling in both of his, gripping it like he had no intention to let it go. “I don’t care whether you’re the First or Second Prince. I only see the hero who helped me a long time ago until now.” He gave him a sincere grin. “You’re always welcome in my pack.”

Leona sucked a breath. Jonah leaned his head back again, letting Leona knew that he was still here. Grim also came down, immediately curled up on Jonah’s lap as the boy ran his left hand down his fur.

“So, please.” He reached for Leona’s other hand with his prosthetic one. “Show us the best version of Leona Kingscholar.”

Leona’s eyes widened. He heard that before. Back when he was passed out. He thought that was a dream, but it was real. _That meant…_

_That nice voice is really Jonah..._

_And the invitation for a place in his crew... Is real..._

Tears in his eyes welded up again and this time he had no intention to wipe it off. He just cried and cried, letting everything out. All his frustration, all his sorrow, everything. All those years of never had a chance to just lay down and cry, he poured it out here. Ruggie and Jonah were giving their warmth that Leona missed so much. _He misses Nanny Vanni’s hot chocolate and those times she rubbed her hands with his during winter. He misses tucking in his grandpa's bed with the old man as he told him heroic stories. He even misses those times when he and Farena were way closer, those rare times when Farena sneaked into his room just to hug him goodnight._

_How could he forget them?_

And with Ruggie’s hands kept holding his, Leona was struck with a realization.

_Ruggie stays._

Even when Leona was missing in action, Ruggie stayed. He was the one who brought him that untouched food. He took control of Savanaclaw during his absence. He always noticed the way Ruggie looked up every night to his balcony as if saying ‘goodnight’.

Ruggie could've given him warmth. And yet Leona _1_ him.

Leona clenched his hand around Ruggie’s. “I’m… Sorry…” he whispered hoarsely.

He felt something dripped to the back of his and. Even Ruggie was tearing up. “It’s okay,” the hyena said. “I forgive you. Always.”

_And thus the crownless shall once again reclaim his fallen crown…_

_For you can be king again…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the most surprising thing here was Ruggie’s appearance. I thought this would be like Riddle where it was only Jonah and Leona. But, when I wrote Grim’s part in the beginning, I wrote Ruggie in there and I just knew I couldn't leave him out.
> 
> I ended up liking how the conversation flows. I thought I would be awkward. And to be honest, I like this one better than Riddle’s. I added some flashback material and Leona and Ruggie might be a bit ooc… Hope this satisfies you guys.


	73. I Can See You Comin'! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: Leona is slightly nicer?  
> Bad news: What is pacing?

It was always a surprise when the Leona Kingscholar was awake during the class. The teacher had given up at this point. So imagine the level of shock when not only he was awake class, but actually paying attention, like actually bringing his book, writing and answering questions without sounding annoyed. It was certainly a sight to see. Once class was over, Leona gathered his book quickly and slung his book-bag over his shoulders. Some eyes were still on him which was annoying. He stood up from his seat and quickly walked out of the class.

“Oh, _Roi du Léon_ ~” Leona stopped his track. He held back a groaned as he turned around to see Rook walked toward him with that usual predator smile of his. “Leaving so soon?”

“Don’t you have anywhere else to go, Rook?”

“ _Mon Dieu_ , don’t be so hard,” Rook tilted his head to the side as he smiled. “It’s wonderful to see you back in class again.”

Leona rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Whatever.” He was about to walk out before he stopped. Glancing back, he was Rook was still standing there, albeit slightly confused. Leona looked forward again, tail swishing unsure.

Then, he muttered. “Thanks for asking.”

He was already walking away before he could hear Rook’s response.

* * *

“Taking a nap again?”

Opening his eyes, grumbling when a familiar eye-patch-wearing face appeared in his vision. Jonah was raising an eyebrow at him but he meant no harm. “You’re blocking the sun, Pirate Boy.”

"I'm no longer the 'Pirate Scum' apperantly." Jonah stepped back but then decided to sit next to him. Leona turned his body, his back facing Jonah’s side. The said pirate boy sat on the grass as he opened the lunchbox he brought with him.

“How’s your first day back in class?” he asked.

Leona hummed. “Uneventful.”

“Homework?”

“I’ll do it on the due day.”

“Why?”

“I already know the answers. I can finish it during breakfast.”

Jonah rolled his eyes, but he was also smiling. No annoyance or ill-will behind it. “I guess changes happen slowly, huh?”

Leona chuckles. “Don’t expect me to suddenly become a star student overnight.”

“That would be a surprise. But take your time.” He offered the lunchbox to Leona. “Spring roll?”

Leona turned his head slightly. _The spring roll does look good- wait._ His nose scrunched up. _Those are vegetable spring rolls._ Turning back again, he said, “No.”

Jonah shrugged as if saying ‘more for me then’. He ate in silence, with the only sound came from Leona’s breathing and the birds chirping above. The sunlight shone through the glass dome but neither of them felt too hot. There were enough plants to shade them from the warm heat.

Jonah let out a sigh as he brought his knees closer to his chest. “I have to admit: this is a nice spot for a nap.”

Leona hummed in agreement. “Been here since freshmen-year. Why move when this place is perfect?”

“Why do you nap so much?”

“You have a problem?” When he received no answer, Leona sighed as he slowly opened his eyes. “It’s just relaxing. Isn’t it nice just to be in your own little corner without anyone to judge you? Naps calm my mind and control my own emotions.”

Jonah turned his head slightly toward him. “You’re still grouchy though.”

“Everyone is grouchy after their naps.”

The pirate boy let out a chuckle. “That’s true.” After a beat, he asked again, “Are you going to invite us in your own little corner?”

Leona blinked but didn’t answer. Jonah turned his head toward him. “If you don’t want me here, invite Senior Ruggie.”

Leona’s brow furrowed. “He always comes without an invitation.”

“To wake you up, yes. But never to take a nap together.”

Leona didn’t answer again. Jonah sighed. No other conversation was made during that time, but none was needed. It was a sort-of comfortable silence. But the bell decided to ruin it.

Jonah packed his lunch box again and stood up, dusting the grass from his pants and fixed his jacket. He turned to Leona. “Aren’t you coming?”

Leona was silent for a while again. But then he sighed. “I’ll be here a little longer.”

Jonah hummed in understanding. “Okay then.” He stepped away from the grass area but paused for a second to say, “Don’t worry. Take your time.”

Leona heard the sound of Jonah's shoes slowly disappearing in the distance. The lion sighed once again and he sat up, looking up to the sky through the glass. Thinking back to what Jonah had said, Leona felt the grass under his gloved hand. Looking around, there was no one to be seen. Once again, Leona was left alone. _What difference did it make now?_ This was his usual nap time. He always had naps on his own. Far away from the noises and his headaches. _So why, this time, it felt lonely?_

“Leona!”

Leona’s ear perked up and the sound of someone running toward him. Once again, unannounced by him, Ruggie appeared. He was raising an eyebrow at him, looking like a scolding mother. “Oh. You just woke up? I was just about to do that.”

“Ruggie-”

“Come on now.” Ruggie walked around him until he reached behind him. His hands were on his shoulder, trying to push him to get up. “Class is about to start. We don’t want you to get another remedial test, do we?”

_Argh… He doesn’t want to deal with that right now._

“Whoa-”

All of a sudden, Ruggie was pulled down, finding himself laying on the grass. His head was beside Leona’s feet, laying in the opposite direction from Leona and the lion’s big hand was holding his wrist. Ruggie lifted his body, using his elbows to prompt himself up. “Leona?”

Leona’s other arm was laid on top of his closed eyes. He let out a grouchy grunt. “I’m tired.”

Ruggie looked at his wrist, then at Leona. He then let out a sigh. “It’s okay, then. I’ll let you skip class this once. Anything you need?” He tried to pull the hand of his.

“Stay.”

“I have class-”

The hand around his wrist tightened up. However, it didn’t hurt. It felt _desperate_ though. Ruggie once again let out a sigh. “Okay.” He laid back down on the grass, using his other arm as a pillow. “Just this once.”

There was a short pause before Leona opened his mouth again. “Why?”

“You said you were tired.”

“No.”

Ruggie turned his head toward Leona. From his position, he couldn’t see the lion’s eyes. But, lifting his head slightly, he could his mouth moved, whispering, “Why do you stay?”

Ruggie turned and looked up to the sky. “I told you before. I won’t leave you alone. The hyena always follows the lion after all.”

“Is it only because of that?”

He felt the grip of his wrist lessen, threatening to pull back. “No.” Ruggie quickly grabbed Leona’s wrist. “Because I want to follow you.” He tightened his grip slightly but not enough to cause pain. “I can’t repay you enough for what you did when we were a child. You saved me and my grandma to an extent. And you still keep doing that, even now.” Ruggie pulled up a smile. “That time at the All Hallow's Eve party? Thank you for that.”

Leona slowly sat up, staring at Ruggie. “What if one day I hurt you again?” he asked, making Ruggie turn toward him. Light blue eyes clashing with the green ones. “What if one day I get angry and decided to get rid of you?”

Ruggie bit his lips. He let out a sigh as he sat up again, pulling his hand away and Leona cowardly admitted that he wanted the warmth back. “I have to admit, I was angry with you back then.” Ruggie looked down to his lap. “I’ve worked hard and you just decided to give up. I know you’re a lazy lion but that had gone too far.”

He shook head lightly then he lifted up his head, giving Leona a sincere grin. “But, in the end, I can’t be mad of you for a long time. I know what you can do. I know you’re smart and strong, but if you just need a small push from the back, then I’ll do it. I’ll be there for you throughout the whole journey. I know you can do better and more. So, please… Don’t give up so easily.”

Leona didn’t want to cry but something inside him just clenched up. “I can’t make promises.”

“I don’t expect promises from you.” Ruggie laughed lightly. “You’re not that type who makes pinky promises.” He shifted his position so he was kneeling, his arm on his knees and his head bowed, but the smile never left his face. “Just don’t forget, where ever you go, I’ll always follow you, Your Majesty.”

Leona couldn’t say anything. He was speechless. Seeing Ruggie like caused an indescribable feeling inside of him. _Guilty for every half-ass attempt? Pride for having someone so loyal to him? Or just plain happiness of having someone with him?_

The lion reached for the hyena and grasp his shoulder. Slowly he brought their forehead together. It was a simple movement, but both of them knew it was hard for Leona to show an act of gratitude. Ruggie took the silent thank you. And forever he would cherish it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why I’m imagining Rook and Maximillion Pegasus. He gives me the same vibes.  
> Originally this was supposed to be a comical scene, but I decided to give more time for Leona since we never see him getting better on screen. I’ll be following Riddle’s pattern of recovery so the next episode should be a light-hearted scene. And I think I might stretch this arc a little bit more for the sake of pacing.  
> As that last bit with Ruggie and Leona is my favorite. I have a thing with knights bowing to their king and swore their loyalty to them.


	74. My Heart Beats In HyperDrive! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: I finally tried to write a Magishift scene  
> Bad news: How do play American Football-Quidditch-Soccer mashup?

“Jonah! Jonah! Look what I've found!”

Jonah looked up from his textbook as Grim flew down the stair, carrying something slightly bigger than himself. Closing his book and put it on the coffee table, just when Grim stopped sitting next to him on the couch.

“Isn’t that a Magishift disk?” Jonah wondered out loud as he took it from Grim’s paws. It did look like the ordinary Magishift disk, but this disk was filled with stickers that looked like it aged. Turning it around, he found a bigger sticker with writing on it which nearly wide as the disk itself. “ _‘Soo’s Magishift Disk’_?” he read it out loud. “‘ _Property of Soo. Do not use, except for Soo’_?”

“Hey!” The disk was suddenly snatched from above. Looking up, he saw the three ghosts examining the disk in awe. “You found it!” Soo was grinning ear-to-ear. “I’ve been looking for this for eighty five years!”

“Aw, man. Remember those times?” Barret laughed. “So many broken windows!”

Jonah blinked at this. “Wait. So you guys used to live here?”

“Night Raven wasn’t as big as now, you know.” Lou suddenly appeared next to Jonah, resting his arm on his shoulder. “It had only two dorms back then; this Ramshackle and Pomefiore. But soon, the dorm was closed down and new ones were built.”

“Why it was closed down?” the boy asked again.

“Safety precaution. Us Ramshackle Dorm alumni were tricksters and serious black-magic users. It was usual for us to cast jinx toward other members.”

“But…” Soo and Barret flew lower. The witch-ghost finger was tracing the outer part of the disk, looking rather solemn. “One day, a senior made a really powerful spell. It killed nearly everyone here, including himself.”

“Eek!” Grim screamed, throwing himself into Jonah’s arms. “We’re living in a massacre house!”

“We were caught in the magical blast, so we were killed too,” Lou added, puffing his cheek and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “In our freshmen-year too! Which is suck!”

Barret nodded. “The building was renovated after that. But nobody was allowed to set a foot here.”

Jonah looked at the three ghosts. It was then he realized that he knew nothing about them. Sure, they would talk about nonsense about their days when haunting students who came here for a haunted house game, but never the reason why they are a ghost. Jonah always thought that those were sensitive matters. But there they were, talking about their dead and possible massacre as if they are talking about the weather. _They were young…_

“Do you ever regret being dead early?”

Lou sighed. “Sometimes.” But then he smiled, pulling closer Soo and Barret, arms around their shoulder. “But we have each other. And now, we have you.” Their grin became wider. _They are so young… And innocent..._ “It’s not that lonely anymore.”

“Though, does the headmaster know this?” Jonah asked again. “He should’ve known about a piece of really big news like that.”

“I don’t think Old Man Crowley was headmaster at that time.” Barret shrugged. “By the time, he applied, the dorm had already been rebuilt.”

“But the news…” The captain scratched his chin. “There’s just no way the world would ignore a massacre.”

Soo went closer to Jonah, whispering to his ear. “There is a saying: ‘Tales of Night Raven College, stays in Night Raven College'.”

“We weren’t paying attention about the news at that time,” Barret added, nodding his head.

“Still…” It was just like the overblot battles. _Nobody ever talks about Riddle’s, even the recent Kingscholar’s wasn’t being talked about again. But the stampede sure does, and some even recognize him from the chandelier accident. And now this? But the ‘massacre’ happened years ago, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if many people forget. But still… For big news, that cost the lives of so many students, how does NRC keep standing? How strange… It was as if every bad news was erased from history…_

“Hey. Hey!” Soo pulled Jonah’s sleeve, cutting him off from his thought. “Let’s play a game of Magishift.”

Jonah snapped back from his thinking process. “I don’t know how.”

“We’ll teach you!” Barret added, pushing Jonah up his chair. Jonah sighed. _Well, it was a boring afternoon anyway._

* * *

Jonah never realized how wide the Ramshackle’s yard is. The ghost had set the mini Magishift arena, using some unused white tape they had found in the storage room to make the ‘checkpoint’, a pole with a rope connected to a tree to make the goal post. While it probably would be a disadvantage knowing that they had to run on the grass, until the Savanaclaw’s Magishit arena, it was still serviceable for a game for fun.

Jonah and Grim stood on one side while Soo and Barret float on the other. Lou floated between them, holding the disk. “Magical Shift is a game of body, brain, and brawn, so no weapon allowed, except your magical pen to cast spells and take down your enemies. The main goal is all about carrying the disk and throwing it through the opponent’s goal-ring. You’ll get six points for that. Or, if you’re on a broom, you can carry the disk all the way through the goal-ring, but you’ll only get three points. You’ll win if your score higher than your opponent.”

“Wait.” Jonah raised his hand. “But you just say that weapon is not allowed. Isn’t broom a ‘weapon’?”

“Not if you use _accio_ to call your broom~” Soo winked at him. "Which technically broom is an essential part of being a magician, so of course they would allow using a broom."

Lou continued. “Now, one team has seven members, and they are divided into three roles: beater, chaser, and keeper. The beater is the main field defense. The chaser is the usual disk carrier and the one who often shoot it. And the keeper is the one who protects the ring.”

“How about we just play?” Grim suggested. “I’ll be easier to understand if we just do it.”

“But we don’t have enough player,” said Jonah.

“It’s fine. We don’t need a keeper right now,” Barret said, with Soo nodding along.

“There will be four turns.” Lou put the disk on the ground. “Both teams will stand in the middle, or the 50 Yards checkpoint. The team with the disk must at least move 10 yards before your opponent stop you. If they pass the checkpoint, the new round will start with the team 10 Yards closer to your opponent’s ring.” He pointed at Barret and Grim. “Grim and Barret stand here. Hand and paw on the disk.”

Both ghost and cat bent down slightly. Lou nodded, turning to Jonah and Soo. “Jonah, Soo. Stand behind your teammate.”

Both boy and ghosts also positioned themselves, slightly bending down. “Grim and Barret. Make sure to be the first to snatch the disk and throw it to the chaser behind you. Once Soo or Jonah catch it, your goal now is to score a goal.”

Grim nodded. His tail swishing in concentration. Lou floated back. “Everyone ready?” he asked, raising his hand. The players nodded.

“Ready. Set. Game!” Lou threw his hand down and Grim immediately snatched the disk throwing it to Jonah behind him. However, he wasn’t ready for Barret suddenly tackling him to the ground.

“Ow!”

“Grim, are you okay?” Jonah asked.

Grim wiggled out from the grip, glaring at the ghost. “Why did you do that?”

“It’s the beater’s job to protect the chaser by pushing back your opponent’s beater so you chaser can fly through,” Barret explained.

Grim eyes widened. “Oh… I see,” he hummed. “Okay. Let’s try again.”

All of them went back to their position as Lou signaled to start. “Ready. Set. Game!”

“Hyaa!” Grim once again snatched the disk and threw it behind him. This time, he managed to hold Barret’s attack. He turned his head slightly at Jonah. “Run!”

The boy nodded and immediately started running around Barret and Grim. He made it far before Soo suddenly appeared behind him with a loud, “Boo!” and he was tackled down to the ground.

“Game!” Lou shouted.

Soo got himself up from Jonah as the boy sat up. “Did I pass the checkpoint?” he asked, looking behind him.

“Yup.” Lou said, pointing at the white tape with the sign ‘30’. “Which means the next round start at the Soo and Barret’s 40 Yards checkpoint mark.”

Jonah hummed as he nodded. “Oh… I think I sort of get it.”

“Okay, guys. To your position!” All of them set in the same formation, but this time the disk was set slightly closer to Soo and Barret’s ring. “Ready. Set. GAME!”

Grim acted fast again, gripping the disk, throwing it to Jonah, and blocking Barret. Jonah ran as fast as he could toward the ring. Soo suddenly appeared in front of him with a “Boo!” but the boy managed to maneuver himself so he ducked past the ghost. Soo squeaked, but quickly regained himself and chased after Jonah.

“Throw it!” Grim shouted and Jonah gritted his teeth. Slowly down his steps, he pulled the disk backward. His prosthetic hand lit up and a buzzing sound of something charging up. With a scream, he threw the disk with all his strength. It was as if the disk was in fire from the lightning-fast speed. It flew through the ring and crashed itself into a tree.

“Game!” Lou shouted, raising his hand. “That’s six points for Jonah and Grim!”

“YES!” Grim cheered, pouncing himself into Jonah’s chest. “YOU DID IT! That was awesome! How did you do that?”

Jonah laughed. “I have no idea.” He looked at his prosthetic hand. “Man… Senior Idia’s work is really cool.”

“Man! If you play with that in a real tournament, I bet no one can stop that throw!” Barret flew up to them, looking at Jonah’s hand in awe.

“Aw… Now I wish we can have another tournament…” Grim whined. “I can’t wait for another year!”

Soo came back from grabbing his disc. Surprisingly, it was still smoking from Jonah’s throw. “You still need seven people in your team, you know. Even with all of our Ramshackle power combined.”

“We can ask Ace and Deuce’s help!” Grim said and he flew up and landed on Jonah’s head.

Jonah looked up at the cat. “But wouldn’t they prefer joining the Heartslabyul’s team?”

“You can just ask them to join here. I can’t say no to you,” Grim said with a playful smile on his face. “Just imagine! Us playing on the big screen! The newcomers who topple the strongest team in the world! It’ll be an awesome story!”

The ghost cheered. “Go, Ramshackle!”

Jonah laughed. “That would be something… But who knows when another tournament will be held to make your debut-” But then he blinked. His brain finally connected the pieces. “Another tournament…”

The rest of the Ramshackle members looked at the captain curiously. “Jonah?” Grim tried to call, slapping the boy’s cheek.

Jonah’s eyes widened as if he just had been struck by lightning. “THAT’S IT!”

* * *

_*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*_

Leona’s ears went down as he looked toward his balcony. “What’s that noise?”

Ruggie shrugged his shoulder as he put down the blanket he was previously knitted together with Leona (‘bonding time’, as Ruggie mentioned) and walked toward the balcony. Letting out a small “Wha-” he turned his head toward Leona. “Uh… Leona,” he called, voice slightly confused. “You might want to see this.”

Leona raised an eyebrow and put down his knitting kit. Walking toward the balcony he looked down. There was some crowd gathered below, even he could see Jack among the crowd. The source of the commotion was a familiar creature, holding up two frying pans and clashing them onto each other.

“Isn’t that the Jonah's cat?” Leona asked out loud and Ruggie hummed.

The cat looked up and grinned. “Ha ha! Finally, I got your attention!”

Leona huffed. “What? You want to be thrown out again?”

“Not this time!” Grim threw the pans aside, colliding with some students’ head, before putting a paw on his hip and pointing at Leona with his other one. “Leona Kingscholar… Prefect Jonah Argentum has challenged you to a Magishift Rematch!”

The crowd erupted. Of course, none of them took lightly being challenged like this. Ruggie turned toward Leona. “Uh… What are we supposed to do?” Ruggie asked, clearly had no idea how to deal with this.

Leona frowned. “What is that pirate boy up to this time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter so much...  
> I've decided: I hate writing sports scenes more that final battles! This is so hard. It also didn't help because I have no idea how Magishift works! I made up all the rules, combining Quidditch terms and American Football rules and bits of Soccer, but I'm pretty sure I messed it up so bad.  
> And we still need two more sports scenes to go... *scream into my pillow*
> 
> And, oh yeah, I made up all the Ramshackle lore, because canon won't give me anything by now.


	75. Take a Shot at Me Runnin' Side by Side! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: Character interactions!  
> Bad news: Expositions…

“Captain, sometimes I can’t really understand your mindset.”

Jonah looked up Ace who was leaning against one of the pillars of the Ramshackle Dorm porch. Actually, all of the Heartslaybul Squad was here, apparently visiting him when they heard that he was grounded. Though from the look of it, he was doing fine and not bored even a bit.

“Does that mean I’m smarter than you?” Jonah asked with a grin.

Ace scrunched up his nose. “I won’t take that opinion.”

“I was inspired by you actually,” Jonah continued, spinning the Magishift disk in his hand. “That ‘Revenge Unbirthday Party’.” He looked at Ace and Deuce back-to-back. “Since you two never get a chance to play in the big game, how about we start here?”

Deuce noticed Ace and Riddle exchanged glances. _Inspired by the party? Strange… It felt like ages ago with the whole overblot Riddle…_ Looking back. _Wasn’t the reason why Ace want the party was because he didn’t get to enjoy it?_ But Deuce knew that Ace didn't come from the lower class of Rose Kingdom, unlike him. For Deuce, a boy living in the lower class, a party was somewhat a big event, even if it’s just a small birthday with his family. _So, imagine how disappointed he was when he was kicked out from a party_ and _got his hand-made food wasted?_ Maybe Jonah wanted this rematch for revenge. _But that can’t be right. Jonah isn’t the revengeful type, right?_

“But aren’t you grounded?” Trey’s voice caught their attention again. “Are you even allowed to play Magishift now?”

“Headmaster says that as long as I stay in the dorm area, I can do whatever I want.”

“That’s not how grounding works…”

“It isn’t?” Jonah tilted his head to the side as he exchanged a glance with Grim. “Have you ever been grounded before?”

Grim thought for a bit before shaking his head. “I don’t think so…”

Trey weakly chuckled as the others sighed at the confused captain. “Anyway,” Jonah said. “I was thinking that we can be on one team.”

Ace raised an eyebrow at this. “Uh… But there’s only three of us?” He gestured at the trio.

“If you want, you can have the whole Heartlabyul team with you,” Cater suggested which made Riddle glared at him because _you can’t just give out an entire team like that._

Jonah puffed up his cheeks. “But that’ll be Savanaclaw vs Heartslabyul.” At that Riddle sighed while Cater nodded at him. Jonah continued with a smile. “Don’t worry. Ramshackle has its own team.”

At that sentenced, three figures emerged from the floor beneath them. Young boys dressed in a devil, wizard, and skeleton costume. The Heartslabyul boys jumped back in surprise. _Ghosts?!_

“Oi! You’re not kidding, right?!” screamed the one with the devil costume.

“We get to play too?!” The one in a wizard chimed in as well, looking the most excited of them all.

Jonah grinned at them. “Of course.”

“Yes!” The wizard ghost cheered as he did a loop-de-loop a bit too close to Riddle’s face, making him stepped back and nearly trip if it weren’t for Trey to hold him back.

“G-Ghost?!” Deuce's face became pale. He felt Ace was gripping his shoulder a bit too hard.

“See? I told you I wasn’t lying when I saw a ghost woke me up,” the ginger-head hissed.

“Hihihi~” The one with the devil costume spoke up, floating closer to Ace and Deuce who shivered by his presence. “We can’t really leave the dorm, so Jonah let us stay as long as we wake him up.”

“And clean the dorm sometimes,” the chubby skeleton ghost rested his chin on top of the devil’s head. “At least we’re doing something and not just eat.”

“Hey! I clean my toilet last week!” Grim shouted, pointing at the two ghosts accusingly. The devil ghost blew a raspberry on him as a response.

“Can we not talk about toilets right now?” Jonah rolled his eyes. The ghosts gigged and floated back behind him. The boy looked at the spooked students before clearing his throat. “Heartslabyul. Meet Lou, Soo, and Barret. They are the Ramshackle Ghosts. Guys, this is Deuce, Ace, Riddle, Trey, and Cater from Heartslabyul.”

The ghosts waved their hands at the humans. Only Cater who waved back, while the other just nod back as greeting. Jonah tossed the Magishift disk to Soo who caught it easily. “With Lou, Soo, and Barret, A-Deuce combined, and separate me and Grim, we have enough people to form a team.”

Riddle, no longer shocked, raised an eyebrow at him. “Jonah, you can’t just take some Heartslabyul students for your team.”

“There’s no rule against students joining other teams during the tournament, though,” Jonah countered.

“I didn’t think about it much, but he’s right. There’s no rule against it,” Cater laughed, to which Riddle glared at him. “Besides, this is not an official tournament. Surely you can be lenient on this.”

“But if you count yourself and Grim as two separate people, that’ll make your magic-less,” Deuce added.

“Not really.” Jonah grinned. Soo gave him the disk again, knowing what Jonah was about to do. “Check this out.”

Jonah ran toward the garden and twisted his body as if he was about to throw a frisbee. The humming sound came out from his hand. With a grin, he threw the disk. It went flying over the Ramshackle at a high speed and strength. "Uh... Oops?"

Fortunately for them, it was a coincidence that the Octavinelle Trio was on their way toward the Ramschackle Dorm to visit their missing chef. The disk went flying straight at toward Azul-

“Azul!”

“Whoa!”

Jade moved first, pulling Azul out of the way, causing the prefect to shout in surprise. Floyd moved forward, taking out his magical pen and spun it, creating a small ball of air. The disk was caught in his ball, now floating aimlessly in it until the ball ceased and the disk landed in Floyd's hands.

“Heeh~” Floyd eyed the disk. “A Magishift disk? Is Baby Seal playing?”

“Senior Azul!”

The three of them looked up as Jonah came running toward them from behind the fence. Behind him, the whole Heartslabyul squad, the three ghosts, and Grim followed him.

“I am so sorry! That was an accident.” Jonah said, stretching his arm to grab the Magishift disk. But Floyd, being Floyd, stepped back and raised the disk out of Jonah’s reach.

“Ah, yes.” Azul stepped away from Jade, fixing your uniform. “Not a problem, Jonah.” Azul looked up to the whole army behind Jonah. “Are you playing Magishift?”

“Not really,” Jonah answered. “Just discussing a possible match against Savanaclaw.”

“We’re going to have a rematch with them!” Grim added, perching onto Jonah’s shoulder. “A payback for the whole incidents. But Ace and Deuce doesn’t want to join-”

“Oi, oi, oi!” Ace suddenly spoke up, walking toward Grim and Jonah. “I didn’t say I’m going to back out.”

Deuce stepped up too. “Me too!” He cracked his knuckles. “I’ll gladly join your team if you need an extra member!”

Azul pushed his glasses up his nose. “Do you even know how to play Magishift?”

Riddle crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That’s true. You never actually play in a match.”

“That’s why we have to train.” Jonah turned toward Riddle. “If you guys train us, we can be more prepare for this and no one needs to get hurt.” The corner of his lips curled up. He tilted his head to the side, trying his best to look pleading. “Can you do that?”

Riddle bit his inside cheeks, eyes gazed toward some random direction, and a light blush on his cheek. “I… I guess I can help you with your flight again,” he muttered.

 _Of course, he would fall for that,_ most of them thought.

“Yeah!” Jonah grinned wider which made Riddle’s blush became more visible. “You can help me land a broom this time.”

“Heeh~” Floyd joined in, sounding interested. Suddenly, without anyone anticipating, he jumped over the high fence, and hugged Jonah from behind, resting his chin on top of his head. “Hey, hey, Baby Seal~” he said, poking Jonah’s cheek, ignoring the multiple “Oi!” from the Heartslabyul squad. “Can I be in your team?”

Jonah chuckled. “Sorry, Senior Floyd not this time.”

“Aw~” The older boy whined, nuzzling to Jonah’s cheek (Riddle was as red as a tomato at this point). “But I want to play too~”

Jonah hummed, tapping his chin as he contemplated. “Maybe there’s something else you can do…”

“Excuse me.” Everyone turned to Jade. “I have a suggestion: Why don’t have Floyd teach Ace Trappola? Both of you are wind-magic users.”

Floyd whined even louder. “Boring~”

“Wait,” Grim called out. “So Ace’s wind and Deuce’s cauldron is not their _unique magic_?”

“Of course not!” Deuce actually looked offended. “It’s just out base _element magic_.”

“How many types of magic are there?” Jonah asked.

“Didn’t you learn that in Magical Analytic?” Riddle asked back. Jonah rolled his eyes upward, trying to think. But he ended up shrugging and chuckling weakly. Riddle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, before continuing, “As a magician, you have three types of magic: _void_ , _element_ , and _unique_.”

He took out his magical pen and waved it, leaving a trail of black light in its movement. “ _Void magic_ is the most common magic to conjure spell. Dark-magic users, like us, are more powerful in curses while light-magic users, like Kalim and Silver, are more powerful in healings.”

Trey followed Riddle's example. Taking out his magical pen as he explained. “ _Element magic_ is, as its name, magic related to the element of nature and you don’t need spell cast it. So far, there are seven: water, earth, fire, wind, plant, metal, and ice. For example, Riddle has plant, Deuce has metal, Ace has wind, and…” He blew onto his gem, snowflake suddenly came out from it, covering Jonah’s bangs with frost. “I have ice.”

“The last magic is _unique magic_ ,” Azul added, tapping his cane to the ground and summoned an empty golden paper in his hand. “Like its name, _unique magic_ is very special magic exclusive for one magician. No unique magic is the same as the others even after generations. While magic usually develops during your tween years, unique magic can takes ages to develop. Some people even don’t have one until they die.”

“No!” Ace suddenly wailed, gripping onto his hair. “What if my unique magic appears when I already have my third grandchild?!”

“No need to worry,” Cater chuckled. “Something interesting about unique magic, it sometimes appears in your most desperate time.”

All of a sudden, the air suddenly grew colder and Jonah couldn’t understand why. Looking back and forward toward some of them, he could see some shadows cast over their eyes as if they were reminded of something terrible that had happened. But it quickly disappeared as fast as it came with Cater cheerfully said, “But that’s a story for another time.”

Jonah nodded. “So both Ace and Floyd have the same type of _element magic_ …” he hummed. “This might be a good idea.”

Floyd gasped. “Baby Seal~” He nuzzled Jonah tighter, which didn’t make him look good in front of the angry first years and a red-faced Riddle. The only thing stopping them from actually attacking was the captain is in the way.

Jonah sighed. But then he blinked rapidly like he just had an idea. He turned his head toward Azul. “Can I use my Golden Ticket here?”

Azul blinked confusedly. But it was soon replaced with a grin. “Of course.”

“Azul!” Floyd screamed, clearly not liking this.

Azul ignored this as some words on the golden contract started to appear. “I can ignore the customer's request.”

Riddle frowned. He had heard about Azul and his contract, but this was his first time actually witnessing it. “What is this ‘Golden Ticket’?” he asked.

“It’s a thing in Mostro Lounge,” Azul answered, rolling the paper into a scroll. “During our special performance, if our leading performance picks a person from a crowd, that person gets a chance to make a deal with me free from contract.”

“Floyd chose me during my first day of work,” Jonah added with a chuckle. “So, might as well make use of it now.”

The taller boy pouted. “You’re so mean, Baby Seal~” Jonah just shrugged.

Deuce was humming, deep in thought. Ace turned toward him. “What’s wrong?”

The blunette frowned. “We don’t have a metal-magic user…” Ace’s eyes widened. _That’s right. They didn’t know anyone with metal magic except Deuce. How is he supposed to train-_

“No need to worry!”

A figure suddenly appeared, hanging upside down on a tree branch, between the kids. Amazingly, all of his garments, including hat and cape, even his hair wasn’t affected by gravity. “For I am here!”

“Headmaster?!” Jonah screamed was muffled by Grim’s fur. The cat suddenly launched himself onto his face when the man suddenly appeared. All of them actually looked like they just had a heart attack.

“Geez… People keep popping up all of a sudden here,” Ace muttered, clutching his chest hard.

Crowley landed on the ground easily. He looked at the students before stopping at Deuce who straightened his back. Crowley cleared his throat and spoke, “A headmaster like me can conjure all element magic. I can teach Mister Spade here.”

“Heh?!” Deuce exclaimed with his eyes widened. “You really mean it?!”

Crowley smiled widely. “Yes~ As long as we don’t destroy another chandelier, we’ll be fine.”

Deuce’s eyes were twinkling, clearly excited. Azul chuckled, pushing his glasses up as he joined in, “I guess, I can help with the event plan.” He sighed. “So little time to plan everything.”

“No worries. I’ll handle the publication,” Cater added, taking out his phone. “I’ll make sure everyone in NRC knows about this match.”

Jonah laughed. Looking at the boys surrounding them, he couldn’t help but let out a smile. _He's lucky to have friends like them._ “Thank you all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter supposed to have a training montage, but it turned out to be longer than I expected. So, once again, I have to cut this in half again.  
> I’m so sorry for the inconsistent update recently. This month until September, I’m teaching in a high school as part of my college program, and, oh boy, it was tiring. I have to prepare the material, homework, and quizzes and have to concentrate on that if I want to graduate.  
> So, if I suddenly don’t update for a very long time, that’s mean I’m preparing to teach. Not to mention that things will be pretty busy in the next few months.  
> Don't you worry about me. Writing this is actually a stress-reliever.


	76. It’s a Blur as I Go By! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: More character interactions!  
> Bad news: How does one write a training montage?

To be honest, Ace wasn’t that comfortable being with Floyd.

Sure, they were on the same basketball and he was a good player, but he was very unpredictable, both in the field and out. His mood was sort of weird and he was just plain… _creepy_ , for the lack of word.

“So, what do I need to do?” Ace asked, standing as far as he could as he did some stretches.

Floyd, who was crouching down in front of a boom box, tilted his head back so far that Ace was scared that it would break. “Wha?”

“Aren’t you going to teach me about wind magic?”

Floyd blinked. “Am I?”

Veins popped on Ace's forehead. “You volunteered!”

“I did not. I’m just doing this because I can’t refuse Baby Seal.” He turned back to the boom box, pressing the play button. Music started to came out from it and Ace could he how Floyd bobbed his head and tapped his toes to the beat. “Can we just dance?”

“Dance?!”

Standing up, Floyd started to move his body, starting by swaying his hips side to side, followed by his arms and legs. As the rhythm gained a beat, his body moved faster, following the tempo, creating his very own dance. “Come on, Little Crab! Dance!”

Ace let out a groan. “Ugh! If you don’t want to teach me, fine!” He turned his heels, walking toward the door. “I’m leaving!”

But Floyd just grinned. Taking out his magical pen, he waved it, violet light came out from it as if it was a gymnastic ribbon. However, there were some puffed of clouds and electricity in there. Floyd threw the light toward Ace. It went spiraling like a cyclone. Without the ginger realizing it, the light went around him and suddenly-

_*bzzt!*_

“ARGH!” Ace fell to the ground, twitching slightly. “Did you just shock me?”

Floyd kept grinning. He waved his wand again, the light went out like a whip and smacked Ace on the thigh. “Ow!” Floyd threw again, but this time, Ace managed to avoid it. “Hey!”

“Dance, Little Crab!” Floyd giggled. “Dance!”

Ace kept on avoiding, Floyd’s attack. His movements weren’t as smooth as Floyd. He sometimes tripped from the surprised shock. Ace growled. Taking out his magical pen, he threw out a wind ball. But Floyd just arced his back, avoiding the ball just by the tip of his chin. The easily stoop up straight again. “Too slow!”

Ace let out a frustrated scream. “Stand still!” Ace threw out his wind again, but Floyd countered it by the spiraling of his pen. He kept spinning and spinning until he created a sparking cyclone toward Ace.

Widened his eyes, knowing that he couldn’t avoid it, Ace lifted both arms to shield his face. He was thrown back with a scream, crashing onto the gym door and fell like a rag door.

“Ow…” the ginger groaned. And between the loud music, he could still hear the older boy’s laugh.

“Try to avoid my shock, then maybe we’ll talk about training~”

_Thus the cat and mouse chase continued…_

* * *

“ ** _[Come out]_**!” A magic circle appeared above the grass. A cauldron suddenly came out from it, landing on the ground with a loud _*bang!*_.

“Hmm…” Crowley rubbed his chin. “Try again.”

Spade nodded. He once again pointed his magical pen to the field, summoning a brand new magic circle. “ ** _[Come out]_**!” Another cauldron fell out of it.

“I see…” Crowley hummed. He glanced at Spade. His brow furrowed and he let out a frustrated groan.

“Dammit!” The blunette kicked the grass. “I can’t seem to call out anything but cauldron!” He sighed, ducking his head in shame. “I’m so sorry, Headmaster…”

Crowley hummed again, looking at how Spade was gripping his pen a bit too tight. “Tell me, Mister Spade. Do you have some special connection with cauldron?”

Spade looked up as he blinked confusedly. “Um…” He looked down again, biting his lip twisting the pen in his hand. “Well… My grandma was a cauldron maker, so I’ve been living with cauldrons for nearly my whole life.” He let out a small chuckle, remembering something from his past. “I often hide inside the biggest pot when I was younger.”

“I see… For you see, magic is also boosted by imaginations. Cauldrons seem to be your happy thought, therefore being the source of your imagination.”

Spade blinked confusedly. “Are you saying I have a close connection with cauldrons?”

“You can say that,” Crowley answered. “Is there any other thing that reminds you of your childhood?”

Spade hummed again. “Baby chicks…”

“Eh?”

Spade let out a smile “Grandma used to have chickens in her backyards and I would chase after the baby chicks.”

“Hmm…” Crowley nodded, scratching his chin. “Did she let it loose?”

“Except at night. She’ll keep them in a coop. It was an A-shape, like a tent.”

“Made out of…”

Deuce rolled his eyes up, trying to remember. “Wood. But it has some chicken wire…”

Crowley nodded his head repeatedly. “That’s it.”

“Eh?”

Crowley walked behind Deuce and put both of his hands on his shoulder. He felt the boy tensed up, but the headmaster used his thumb, rubbing his shoulder blade in a circular motion, trying to relax his muscle. “I want you to close your eyes.”

Deuce tilted his head back. “Headmaster?”

“Try it.”

Deuce bit inside his cheek before nodding. He looked forward then closed his eyes, only focusing on his breathing. Crowley hummed in approval. “I want you to imagine that chicken coop. Imagine those wire parts.”

Deuce brow furrowed, trying to remember. “Hmm…”

“Now imagine if all part of the coop is made out of the same wire. Can you do that?”

“I think I can…”

“Good. Try to summon it.”

Spade took a deep breath and let it out through his mouth. Slowly he raised his hand upward, red gem shining under the sun and a red magic circle appeared underneath him and the headmaster. He snapped his eyes open, screaming, “ ** _[Come out]_** , **_[wire chicken coop]_**!”

Blacklight shot up from his gem. It burst in the air and summoning a magic circle. Crowley looked up as something metal came out from the circle: a triangular prism made out of wire. The prism came out fully from the circle, falling toward him. Crowley acted fast and pulled Spade out of the way, earning an “Eek!” from the boy.

The prism landed on the ground. Spade opened his eyes, looking at what he just produced.

“It’s smaller than I thought,” he muttered. Crowley gave a light chuckle. _They had a long way to go…_

* * *

“Lower your broom.” The broom suddenly drop. Riddle let out a squeak before it suddenly stopped. “Gently!”

“Grim!” Jonah shouted at the cat who rolled his eyes.

“Sorry!” Grim let out his power again, this time, way weaker. Riddle hummed in approval and Jonah let out a sigh through his mouth. Slowly he let down his feet-

-only to accidentally slipped from the wet grass. 

“Wha-”

Losing balance, Jonah accidentally pulled his broom, which resulted in Riddle fell off the broom, followed by Jonah and Grim, all stacked up on the patch of wet grass.

“Ugh…” Grim groaned. “You missed a step.”

“Yeah. No kidding,” Jonah muttered. “This is way harder than crashing down.”

Veins popped on Riddle’s forehead. “I will not risk both of you falling to your death again,” he said in a serious tone. “Seriously, why do you always have near-death experience every time you hold a broom?”

“Not every time,” Jonah grumbled which Riddle reacted by glaring at him. Furrowing his brow, Jonah pushed Grim off him and sat up. He watched Riddle sat up as well, dusting the back of his PE jacket from the sticking grass, looking more annoyed than usual.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Jonah suddenly asked and Riddle just stopped.

The redhead’s hand clenched and he let out a sigh. “Can’t I be?” he muttered, moving his legs to sit cross-legged on the ground. “In nearly all incidents around Magishit, you somehow get hurt.”

Jonah looked down, bringing his knees closer to his chest. “That is true.”

Riddle didn’t dare to look up. His gray eyes focusing on playing his fingers. “We aren’t even finished with the first semester and you’ve gotten yourself in more trouble than any first years. How are you so calm about this?”

Jonah looked up to the sky, thinking for a bit before answering. “The thrill, I guess?”

This time, Riddle did turn his head toward the eye-patch boy, but Jonah kept watching the clouds rolling. A small smile graced his face. “If this is just an ordinary school, like as ordinary I can imagine, I probably won’t be working hard as I am now. Isn’t it great when you have adventure waiting just around the corner?”

Receiving no answer from Riddle, Jonah turned toward him. “How about like this? When you were little and your friends are inviting you for a game, will you join them if you’re supposed to study?”

“I…” Riddle looked down again, trying to remember what he usually does in those situations. Back when he, Trey, and Che’nya still play together, “I’ll finish my study first then go and play.”

“But you were excited the whole time, right?”

“I guess…”

Jonah nodded. “The feeling is nearly similar. Sometimes, yes, I’m tired of all of these troubles, but if I don’t have these troubles tailing me all the time, life would be boring. We’re making precious memories after all.”

“Memories?”

“Yes.” His smile turned into a sad one. “If I can’t remember my old ones right now, why not make new ones?” He turned his head to the sky again, hand aimlessly caressing the top of Grim’s head who curled up in his lap. “Will you be there along the journey, friend?”

Grim purred at this, but Riddle didn’t answer. Not yet at least. His fingers were twitching, wanting to reach Jonah. _It’s okay, right? He can touch his friends, right? He hugged him before, yes, but…_

Inhaling a deep breath, Riddle finally gathered enough courage to raise his hand. It was still trembling, but it finally landed on Jonah’s knee. Jonah looked up to him in surprise, but Riddle ducked his head, trying to his the light blush on his cheek.

“I’ll be there,” he whispered. And that was more than enough for Jonah.

* * *

“Deuce, look out!”

Deuce looked up just as a magishift disk came flying straight at him being thrown by Floyd. Deuce took out his magical pen, summoning a magic circle in front of him. “ ** _[Come out]_** , **_[chicken coop]_**!” The chicken coop, made entirely from wire emerged from the circle acting as a net.

“Deuce!” He looked up, once again, at the Soo who was waving his arm. “Blast it to me!”

“Right!” The chicken coop disappeared and the disk fell into Deuce’s hands. “Catch!” He threw the disk as hard as he could toward Soo. The ghost flew up, passing Cater who blocked him previously. The ghost whisked around the orange-haired boy and aimed straight to the goal.

Suddenly a wall of ice shot up from the ground. “Wha-” Turning his head, the ghost saw Trey, magical pen pointed at him, with a smirk on his face.

“I’m not letting you through,” said the greenette.

Soo looked around. His eyes caught onto something. “Oh yeah…” He suddenly threw the disk back, which was caught by a very open Barret. The ghost ran straight to the ring, where Riddle was guarding.

“Hiyaa!” Barret threw the disk. But Riddle pointed his wand at the disk.

“ ** _[Protego]_**!” he shouted, forming a shield around him. The disk hit it and was tossed back-

-right into a running Ace who immediately caught it.

“Throw it, Ace!” Jonah screamed.

Ace grinned. “Take this!” He threw the disk toward the small opening created when Riddle lowered his shield.

“Wha-”

The disk flew passed the ring, landing on the grass.

Azul blew the whistle. “SCORE!”

“Yes!” Ace jumped, pumping his fist to the air. “Did you see that? We finally score!”

Jonah ran toward Ace, pulling him into a one-arm hug. “That was awesome, Ace!” he laughed. “With more practice, we’ll definitely win!”

Azul chuckled as he looked at his notes of practices. To be honest, he doubted those first years could win against the expert Savanaclaw. _But…_ Looking up to the first years who were getting some advice from the other team, Azul sighed, reminding himself that this is just a game. _Win or lose, it doesn’t matter, despite a small voice inside kept telling him that this is useless because you don’t give or gain anything. But does it always have to be like that?_

“How about we stop for today?” Azul was brought back again from Jonah’s voice. “We’ll train again tomorrow.”

“Haah…” Ace loudly sighed, wiping the sweats from his forehead. “I’m beat…”

Trey chuckled. “How about we go back to the dorm and I’ll make you some salmon with sweet potato and some avocado smoothies?”

“Ooo~ Sound delish~” Cater said.

“It’s also good post-workout food,” Trey added.

“Ugh… Please… I’ll eat everything,” Ace groaned. He then thought of something. “Hey, Prefect.”

Riddle glanced at him after drinking from his water bottle. “Hmm?”

“Why don’t you invite the captain for dinner?”

Riddle’s face immediately became red. “E-Eh?”

Ace grinned playfully, nudging Riddle’s side with his elbow. “Come on~ It’ll be romantic~”

“Hey~ That’s not fair!” Floyd suddenly popped between the Heartslabyul kids.

Riddle raised an eyebrow at him. “And why is that?”

Floyd pouted. “Goldfish can go first… Because Azul hadn’t made his move!”

“What?” Azul, who just gave Jonah his notes, shot his head up toward him. “F-Floyd, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, I think it’s a wonderful idea~” Jade added. “We can even make it into a candlelight dinner.”

Ace pouted. “Oh yeah? Who needs formalities? We’re going to eat in front of the TV!”

“Oh my, how barbaric~” Jade chuckled.

“Why are you guys fighting about how to have dinner?” Jonah asked. “I’m fine with any ways to eat.”

You could hear the collective sigh coming from everyone, well, perhaps except Riddle and Azul who was blushing and Jonah who was genuinely confused. “Guys?”

Ace groaned. “Sometimes I don’t understand you, Captain?”

“Mou~ Baby Seal can be so dense~” Floyd whined.

Jonah sighed. “Look. If you really want a big dinner party, how about we have one after the match? It’ll be a celebration.”

Azul cleared his throat. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

“Indeed,” Riddle added, tucking some hair behind his ear. “It’s a great aftermath reward.” Riddle nodded to himself.

Cater let out a chuckle. “Well then, we should head back before dark.” He turned to Jonah and waved his hand. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Jonah~”

Jonah waved back, watching Cater ushered Ace and Deuce out. Riddle gave him a small waved as he and Trey also walked out.

Azul nodded, turning to Jonah. “I’ve put in some strategies and possible alternative player formation in those notes. It might help you.”

Jonah nodded. “This is free, right?”

Azul chuckled, pushing his glasses up. “Funny if you think I’ll give anything away without payment.”

Jonah sighed, but there was no malice in there. “Figure.” He then smiled. “Thanks anyway.”

Azul nodded. “You are welcome, Mister Argentum.” He turned to Jade and Floyd. “Well then, we’ll be off.”

Floyd ruffled Jonah’s hair one last time and Jade shook his hand. Jonah watched the three Octavinelle students walked away. He let out a sigh, picking up the Magishift disk from the ground. He glanced at Grim and the ghosts. “How about you guys boil the pasta first? I’ll be making tuna carbonara.”

Grim sheered. “Yes! Come on, guys!”

The three ghosts followed the cat inside, leaving Jonah alone in the yard. He smiled. _Everything is going well. Though…_ He tossed the disk in some random directions, not really caring where it landed.

However, the disk was caught by someone unexpected. “Oi, Pirate Boy.”

“Senior Kingscholar.” Jonah walked toward the opened gate where Kingscholar stood. “Scouting for your opponent?”

Kingscholar frowned at that. “Any reason why you suddenly challenging me?”

Jonah chuckled. He knew this question might come up sooner or later. “A payback,” he aside, followed by a sigh. “Also, you guys are just too stubborn to say sorry from how I see this.”

KIngscholar raised an eyebrow at him. “What? You prefer me getting on my knees and beg for forgiveness?”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “Nah. That’ll be embarrassing for both sides.” He took the disk from Kingscholar’s hands and stepped back a few steps. He tossed the disk to Kingscholar who caught it again. This time the lion it tossed back, which Jonah caught it.

“How are you doing these days?” the eye-patch boy asked.

Kingscholar hummed. “Better I guess.”

“Good. How many times you get out of your room?”

“Everything Ruggie forced me too.”

“You’re good with him?”

Kingscholar growled under his breath. “What are you implying?” His toss was a bit harder than before which made Jonah nearly missed a step.

“Nothing,” he answered, tossing it back. “Just to make sure.”

Kingscholar was silent for a moment. “I won’t hurt him,” he muttered just as he caught the disk. “Not again.”

Jonah gave him a nod. “Good to know.”

Kingscholar tossed the disk. Jonah jumped, trying to catch it but it went beyond his reach. He let out a small laughed as he ran toward it. As the boy reached out for the disk, Leona paid attention to the metallic right hand. 

_He did that._

“Your hand.”

Jonah paused. Clenching his right hand, he rubbed his finger. _He still couldn’t feel it..._ "What about it?" he said, walking back to his position.

Kingscholar frowned. His hands clenched to the side. “Is this whole rematch your act for revenge?”

Jonah was silent, looking straight at Leona. Leona was expecting a ‘yes’. Expecting Argentum to gave him a villain monologue or a rant. But-

“No.”

“What?”

Jonah smiled softly at him. “This is not for my hand or for nearly killing us all. This is just a fun game.” He hugged the disk closed to his chest as slowly the light of the world dimmed down. “I didn’t want us to have a bitter relationship until we graduate. I’m fine if we don’t talk anymore and on a neutral term, but I can’t leave a bitter tone between us.”

He stepped back again. “So, if I ask you again, Leona Kingscholar. Will you accept this humble captain’s challenge?”

He tossed the disk again and Leona caught it with ease. Looking at the disk, Leona sighed. _This kid is an idiot. But a kind idiot. Why is he surrounded by idiots? Ruggie, Jack, Jonah…_

_But if these idiots are the only ones who can accept him, who are able to forgive him…_

_Leona wouldn’t mind living in this world._

“You’re being dramatic.” The corner of his lips curled up in a smile. The light finally returned to his eyes. “Don’t come crying if we beat you.”

Jonah grinned widely. “I expect nothing less from the King of Beast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. This chapter was the least stressful compare to the last ones, mostly because this is pure fluffy character interactions.  
> The next chapter will be the final installment of Leona's Recovery/Magishift Remake Arc, and then will be moving on to a brand new Arc. FInally...


	77. Greatness Thrusts Itself Into Our Lives! (Break & Gosh Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: This is the finale of “Break & Gosh”!  
> Bad news: I will never write a sports scene again…

“GOOD DAY, NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE!” The familiar Scarabia Prefect voice resounded through the microphone. “AND WELCOME TO A VERY SPECIAL MAGISHIFT TOURNAMENT!”

It was amazing how Cater's advertisements could bring out so many spectators. It was as if all of Night Raven College gathered in the Savanaclaw Magishift Arena, all cheering for the new game.

Kamil and Cater stood in front of the bleacher, facing the crowd with their megaphone. Vil and Rook stood a few steps away, Vil with his video camera while Rook with Vil’s phone, live on magicam. “What a pleasant surprise to see more Magishift this semester! I am so excited! Don’t you, Cater?”

“I sure am, Kalim!” Cater laughed. “We already have the team on the field!”

Both of the hosts and cameramen turned toward the field where two groups had already gathered. On one side, there was a group with yellow shirts with their signature animal ears and tail. “The pride has returned once again! Will they stay on the top? It’s SAVANACLAW!” Meanwhile of the other, gathered a group from all kinds of species, humans, ghosts, and demon-raccoon. “They certainly came out of nowhere, but they aren’t afraid to fight the big boys! RAMSHACKLE!” Both captains exchanged handshakes, hoping that this would be a good game before having their team huddle up.

Most of his friends are sitting on the front seat, with nobody to block their vision, as expected from Azul. Ortho was there waving his hand in the air, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. “Go, Ramshackle!” he cheered. “Go, Jonah Argentum!”

“You can do it, guys!” Epel shouted excitedly, both at Jack and Jonah. “Kill them all! Kick their ass!” He could’ve sword Vil was glaring at him. Jack on the field, who heard Epel, wagged his tail in happiness.

Jonah motioned his crew to gather around. “Okay, guys. We’ve practiced this. But I want you to know that even if we lost, it’ll be fine. It’s just a game.” He started to point to each member as he gave them their basic instruction. “Ace, make sure to summon your broom immediately. Deuce, you can use your canon cauldron if you need too. Lou, Soo, Barret, don’t let them get through. Grim, when I need our broom, better get ready. Is my order clear?”

All of them gave a collective nod. Jonah grinned at them. “Alright let’s do this!” He stretched out his hand to the middle, and Ace put his on top of it, followed by Deuce, the ghosts, and lastly Grim with his two paws. “Are you ready, kids?”

“Aye, aye, Captain!”

The whistled was blown by Vargas as all players went into position. Grim, Barret, and Lou stood in the beater line facing Jack and other Savanaclaw students. Both of the cat’s paws and Jack's hands were on the disk.

Vargas nodded. “Ready. Set. Game!”

Grim snatched the disk, followed by the scream-fest from the ghost pushing back the Savanaclaw students. Jack was about to push forward but Grim already shoot fireballs at the ground, stopping the wolf-boy’s track.

The disk was thrown and was caught by Jonah. Glancing up, he saw brooms flying toward the fields. Ace was already running, hand catching his broom and immediately rode it.

“Fly!” he screamed throwing the disk toward Ace. The ginger-head took out his wand and caught the disk with magic. Quickly grabbing the disk with his hand, Ace brought himself closer to his broom. His right hand is holding his broom while the disk was tucked between his chest and broom, while his left hand was pointing his magical pen backward, using his wind magic for as a booster.

Leona on the beater noticed this. Quickly, he slammed his staff to the ground, summoning walls of earth, blocking Ace. The ginger-head’s eyes widened, quickly turning his broom, to the side-

-But Jack came flying as well. With his bare band, he managed to tackle Ace to the ground.

_*bruk!*_

“Game!” shouted Vargas, followed by the cheer of the ground.

“Ow! Ow! Ow…” Ace groaned, sitting up to the ground.

“Sorry.” Jack offered a hand toward him. Ace smiled and accept it.

“No problem.”

“Mou~ Crab!” Floyd stood up from his seat in the crowd. “That wasn’t graceful at all! I’ll teach you ballet next!”

Veins popped on Ace's temple. “This is not dancing!”

Jonah looked at the field. Ace managed to fly past the 20 yards mark. “We’re one step closer,” he muttered.

Grim plopped up onto his head. “Hey, Jonah. Are you going to fly now?”

“Hmm...” He turned toward Leona. The lion’s tail was swishing with excitement. The corner of Jonah’s lips curled up. “Yeah. Let’s fly.”

The position changed with all the ghosts on the beater, while Ace, Jonah, and Grim at the chaser. Leona noticed how the cat position was closer to the pirate boy.

“Ready. Set. Game!”

This time, Jack snatched the disk, throwing it behind him and was caught by Ruggie.

“Grim!”

“ ** _[Accio]_** , **_[Roy Mustang 2003]_**!”

Grim jumped into the air, just as a broom came passing by. Jonah quickly grabbed the groom and jumped onto it, flying straight toward Ruggie.

Ruggie grinned. “Don’t stop me now!” Suddenly he turned upside down, legs around the broom, with one hand holding the disk and the other pointing this wand forward. “ ** _[Flipendo]_**!”

Jonah's eyes widened as he hugged Grim closer. The spell hit his broom, knocking the boy and cat off their broom.

“Jonah!” Riddle shouted from his seat. “Get back up now!”

With an open field, Ruggie returned to his correct position, flying straight to Deuce. The blunette gripped his magical pen hard, summoning a magic circle.

“HA!” Ruggie threw the disk, aiming straight to the Ramshackle’s ring.

Duece snapped his eyes open. “ ** _[Come out]_** , **_[cauldron]_**!”

A cauldron suddenly appeared, catching the disk with a loud _*dong!*_

“Deuce!” Jonah yelled, already up on his broom again with Grim. Deuce nodded, gripping his wand with both of his hands to aim it at Jonah's direction.

“ ** _[FIRE AWAY]_**!”

The cauldron, like a canon, shot the disk out with a loud _*boom!*_. Jonah pulled his broom up as Grim added more power, catching the disk and quickly made a dive.

“He caught it!” Azul cheered, followed by Riddle shouting, “Go, Jonah!”

Leona smirked, watching Jonah zoomed toward him. He held his ground, a giant magic appeared underneath him." _ **[I am your hunger, I am your thirst. I am what steals your tomorrows. Kneel before me!]**_ " He snapped his eyes opened. " _ **[**_ _ **King’s Roar]**_!" He slammed his staff to the ground. Dust immediately covered the air again.

“Dammit!” Jonah held his broom tight. “Grim, give us light!”

“Fuugya!” Grim shot his flame forward, which was blocked by Leona’s staff. The lion smirked as the stomped the ground. Giant rocks floated beside him. With a thrust of his hand, the rock came flying toward Jonah.

“Gah!” Jonah steered his broom as Grim kept shooting back at the rock.

“Captain!”

Jonah looked to the side. Ace was flying closer to the goal, but Jack was chasing him. “Pass it!”

“I’m going to risk this…” he muttered, before shouting, “CATCH!” He threw the disk toward Ace. Ace tried to pull his broom upward, raising his hand to catch it, but Jack was faster. The wolf-boy managed to intercept and caught the broom.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” shouted Ace.

Jack just grinned. “A beater job is to defend,” he said, confidently. “I’m just protecting my side.”

He threw the disk toward Leona who caught it with ease. Glancing to the side, Leona’s green eyes met with Jonah’s black one. There was a glint of excitement in them. “This game is mine!”

And he ran.

Jonah gasped. “Stop him!”

The ghosts of Ramshackle tried to spook them, but everything other Savanaclaw members blocked him with their magic or body. The field was wide open for the lion. He ran straight toward Deuce who had prepared his magical pen.

Leona grinned. “ ** _[Stupefy]_**!” he shouted, aiming straight at Deuce.

“Ah! **_[Protego]_**!” Deuce shouted back, projecting a shield in front of him. Taking his chance, Leona made a mad dash to the side. There was a small opening to the ring. _NOW!_

With a mighty roar, Leona threw the disk as hard as he could and poor Deuce couldn’t top it-

-It flew past the ring!

“GAME!” shouted Vargas. “Six points for Savanaclaw!”

The crowds erupted with cheer as Leona walked back to his side of the field. Jonah landed his broom right in front of Leona, stopping him.

Jonah gave him a challenging smile. “We’re still early in the game. We can turn the tide.”

Leona smirked. “I would like to see you try.”

All of them went back to their original position. Thus, the game resumed.

“Ready. Set. Game!”

* * *

“Let’s all make a toast for our winner! Cheer!”

“CHEER!”

The Ramshackle was once again filled with people. The table that was set on the lounge was filled with various food and fruit punch. The room was lit up with magic as if pixie-dust were falling from the ceiling, there was a banner hung on the wall above the hallways which said, ‘ **CONGRATULATION! ~~It’s a boy!~~ SAVANACLAW!**'

Yes. In the end, Savanaclaw won with the final score of 48 – 6. But still. It was actually amazing that Ramshackle managed to score a goal.

“See~” Floyd smiled too widely as he poked Ace’s cheek. “Told you the dancing work!”

Ace pouted his cheek, though deep down he had to admit how ‘dancing together’ with Floyd helped him with his speed and agility.

“You’ll make a good chaser,” Riddle comment, nodding to himself. “Maybe next year, you can be part of the Heartslabyul Team.”

Ace eyes widened, along with his smile. “Eh? Really?”

It was Riddle’s turn to smile. “I said ‘maybe’.”

“Aw, Prefect! Don’t crush my hope!”

Jonah rolled his eyes as he poured some punch to two glass. He carried it toward Leona and Ruggie who were enjoying their meal. “Great game, Your Majesty,” he said as he offered one of the glass to Leona. The lion’s lips curled up as he took the glass and gave Jonah’s glass a small _*clink*_.

“I have to admit: you lasted longer than I thought,” he said, before taking a sip.

Jonah chuckled. “I have stubbornness issues.” He sighed. “But just to make sure you get my message.”

It was as if the world went mute and there were only two people there. Everything seemed to blur and the only thing to focus was the pirate boy in front of him.

“I’m not mad,” Jonah said, smiling softly. “I’m not looking for revenge. I forgive you.”

Leona could only stare at him. To be honest, he was speechless. He suddenly felt a nudge on his side. Turning his head, he saw Ruggie grinning at him.

“You better not go moping around again,” he said without a hint of anger. “Or else, I’ll have to drag you out again.”

Leona raised an eyebrow at him. “You sounded like it’s a chore for you.”

Ruggie cackled. “Don’t take it like that, Leona.” But he kept smiling. “But you know I’ll be there.”

“It’s true.” Everyone turned toward Jack who walked toward the little Savanaclaw squad. “Even after everything, I know you can be better. I want to see that same Senior Leona Kingscholar in all of his glory and he who inspired me.”

None of them spoke anything, Leona was dumbfounded. _How could he never notice these friends around him?_

_Friends? Huh. That’s a strange word._

_Maybe he could get used to that term._

Jonah snorted. “Aw~ You do care!”

Jack's cheeks became red. “Wh-What are you talking about?” he muttered, averting his gaze as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Leona chuckled. “Always knew the dog has the softest heart.” Ruggie laughed at that.

Suddenly, Jonah felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Azul and the twins standing there. “Captain. We’ll be leaving early now.”

“Already?”

Azul nodded. “Yes. I still need to tend some Mostro Lounge reports.”

“Alright then.” The four of them walked toward the door and the smaller boy opened the door for them. “I’ll see you at work.”

Azul chuckled. “Don’t be late, Mister Argentum.” He tipped his head downward. “Good night.”

Jonah gave them a two-finger salute. “Good night, Mister Ashengrotto.” The captain closed the door from the inside and walked back to the others. _The night is still young after all…_

* * *

“Azul, it would be fine if you want to say here longer,” Jade said when they had already reached the Hall of Mirror. “We can handle the jobs on our own.”

“No.” Azul shook his head. “We need to get this done as fast as possible unless we want to lose sales.”

The three of them passed the mirror and walked straight to the Octavinelle Dorm Lounge. Azul sat on the couch, loosening his tie. “Did you finished the job?”

“Yes.” Jade nodded, a hand on his chest. “We have collected all test answers from the last 100 years.”

“Mou~ Those tests were hard to find, Azul,” Floyd whined, sitting on the sofa’s arm, feet dangling above the ground.

“But it’ll be worth it.” Azul smiled wickedly, feeling the excitement bubbling inside his chest. “Final exam is coming soon.” Looking up at the twin, both of them were smiling so widely and dangerously. Azul was sure his smile looked wicked too.

Azul his glasses up his nose as it shone under the light. “Let’s see how many poor unfortunate souls who come swimming to us this time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done… FINALLY!  
> WE ARE DONE, GUYS! THIS FREAKING FILLER ARC IS DONE!
> 
> Hoo boy! This sure took a while. A month! Whoo, this arc sure was a ride!  
> But it’s finally done… Finally, we can move on to the story again.
> 
> I want to thank you so much for sticking around for this filler arc. I know I spent too long with this Arc and I have no idea whether this is a good Arc or not. I know this is messy, but I’ll let you decide.
> 
> Okay. Time to refresh my mind once again.  
> I am very excited for the next Arc…


	78. Studying is Easy! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some bunch of kids trying to study.

“Mister Argentum.”

Jonah looked up from his book. “Yes,” he said as he stood up, looking at Trein straight in the eyes.

“Please explain to us about the uprising of Elfric the Eager.”

“Uprising… Um…” Glancing to the opened book in front of him, he cursed when he realized that it wasn’t on the right page of the subject. Jonah drummed his fingers onto the side of his thigh, nervousness starting to creep up into his chest as he stumbled on his own world. “Well… the uprising of Elfric the Eager was a moment – I mean, a revolt! – formed by Elfric the Eager… Umm… It happened in…. I mean, it happened because…?”

Jonah clammed his mouth shut and ducked his head in shame. “Can’t continue, Mister Argentum?” asked Trein.

Jonah shook his head. “No, Professor.”

“Sit down,” Trein said and Jonah did that, quickly flipping his book to the pages he wanted, and honestly, he wanted to smack himself for not knowing the answer. “Mister Howl. Same question.”

Jack stood up from his seat. “Yes, Sir!” His explanations were very detailed and on point as if he rehearsed in front of a mirror. Jonah rested his chin onto his palm of his hand, sighing without a word.

* * *

“Ugh… This stink…”

Ace sighed, folding his and behind his head as he leaned back against the back of his chair. “Chin up, Captain,” he said, glancing at Jonah who rested his head on top of his folded arm on top of his desk. “It’s understandable with your memories problem and all.”

Deuce, who was standing in front of Jonah with his hands on the table, nodded. “Plus, since you’re technically a non-magician. So, everything must've been a new thing for you.”

Jonah let out a groan. “I’ve been in this school for nearly three months and I can’t even write a report about some house-elf abuse.”

“This might be a trouble for you…” Epel, who sat on the table, hummed, swinging his dangling legs. “Not to mention the final exam is coming up.”

Ace nearly fell off his chair, Deuce smacked the table, causing Jonah to immediately shot his head up and Grim to fell off his head. “Already?!” the four of them shouted. It was actually pretty amazing how they had the same thought and reaction.

Jack, who stood next to Epel, nodded. “It’s in the third week of November.”

“But that’s next week!” Ace shouted.

“Ugh!” Jonah groaned louder, hands messing with his hair in frustration. “What am I going to do? The headmaster is going to expel me if I get more bad grades. Or worse… He will stop paying my electricity bill!”

“No!” Grim shot up. “The fridge won’t work if that happens!” He quickly flew in front of Jonah and squeezed his cheeks. “We need to get you smart quickly!”

“What are we going to do?” Ace asked. “Is there any potion to make you smart?”

Epel hummed. Fingers on his chin. “Vil probably knows something...” he mumbled.

Jack could felt himself growling. “Isn’t that cheating?” He eyed the Heartslabyul and Ramshackle students. _They could’ve forgotten what caused the whole Savanaclaw shenanigans in the first place right?_ “Why don’t we help you study? We can teach our best subject to Jonah.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea,” Epel exclaimed. “That way Jonah will have an expert in each subject.

Jonah looked up to both of the Class 1-B students. “Guys, thanks. But you don’t need to go that far.”

“Why not?” Jack asked.

Jonah weakly chuckled as he rubbed behind his neck. “I’ll just a waste of time your time. You can use it to study yourself.”

Epel and Jack exchanged a look. Ace, Deuce, and Grim frowned. It was no surprise to them that Jonah would reject the offer. Of course, he would rather worry about disturbing their study time than his own.

“Then how about a study group?” Jack suggested again. “That way we can study together.”

“I…” Jonah looked at the small circle of friends one by one. His heart warmed up knowing that they are willing to help a stupid captain like him. He let out a sigh “Alright. Let’s do this.”

* * *

“You seem excited,” Jack said as both he and Epel walked toward the Ramshackle Dorm, carrying their book.

Epel nodded as he smiled a bit. “I’ve never been in a study group before.”

“You don’t study together at Pomefiore?” Jack asked.

Epel steps slowed down as he sighed. “I don’t really get along with the other Pomefiore kids. Hadn’t really find a great connection.” He clicked his tongue. “But I don’t mind. I have you and those four.”

Jack hummed in agreement. “Sometimes it’s great to hang out with other people.”

“Or even have someone to hang out with,” Epel muttered under his breath.

Of course, Jack’s sensitive ears caught that. “What?”

Epel shook his head again. “Nothing.” He reached for the Ramshackle Dorm gate and opened it for both of them.

When the two of them reached the front door, Epel gave it a few knocks before opening it. “Excuse me.”

“Epel, Jack! Welcome!” greeted Jonah.

The lounge was a mess. Books and papers scattered on the ground while the kids in there were lazying around. The table, instead of filled with studying material, was filled with various snacks and drink.

“Do you guys want some tea?” Jonah offered, stirring his milk tea.

Veins popped on Jack’s forehead while Epel just sighed. “We’re supposed to be studying! Not having a tea party!” the wolf-boy howled.

* * *

“I don’t get why we need to learn about werewolves in defense magic,” Grim muttered, holding his book in front of his face.

“This will be important for next year,” Jack said. He reached for an empty paper and started to write his explanations on it as the other kids leaned forward to pay more attention. “Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus, when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will become a werewolf themselves. We were taught that there are several ways to prevent and heal werewolf attacks, however, none of them can’t really completely sure a bitten victim. One of the ways is using the _homorphus charm_ , which temporarily reverts the werewolf into human form. You can also use a mixture of powdered silver and dittany to prevent the victim of a werewolf bite from bleeding to death.”

Ace whistled. “Wow, you sure know a lot about werewolves.” He glanced toward Jack, particular to the twitching wolf-ears. “Are you sure there isn’t any connection with your _unique magic_?”

“No. Only because I can change into a wolf, that doesn’t make me a werewolf,” Jack huffed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, clearly annoyed he was referred to as this dangerous creature. “Plus, _Unleash Beast_ can be used anytime I want, while lycanthrope can only transform during a full moon. Werewolves are dangerous. Encountering one might lead to your death. That’s why we need to defend ourselves. That is why we learn this.”

Jonah reread the explanation in amazement. “So, what’s your secret of knowing this?”

“Nothing.” Jack shrugged. “All you need to do is listen to your professor. And always remember to review.”

_*bang!*_

Collective heads fell flat on the table. Jack looked at all of his friends in confusion.

“But if you didn’t do that…” muttered Ace.

“What are we going to do…” Deuce added.

“Don’t tell me you guys only study when they give you homework?” Jack's only response came in a form of groans from each of the shocked students. The wolf-boy sighed as he ran his hand down his face. “Seriously…”

* * *

“Captain!” Ace waved when he spotted Jonah sitting at their usual lunch table. “It’s rare to see you here.”

Jonah laughed. “Yeah. I woke up late today, so I didn’t get a chance to cook for breakfast.”

“Studying history of magic this time?” Deuce asked when he and Ace sit down across Jonah and Grim. The cat was happily munching a tuna sandwich while Jonah got a plate of bacon and eggs, although it seemed to be untouched.

“Yep,” Jonah answered. “Magicians are weird. Why is there even a thing called ‘Soap Blizzard’?”

Ace laughed. “I remember reading that! When was that blizzard again?”

Jonah paused mouth opening and closing like a fish. “Ah… Um…” He flipped the pages of his book trying to find the passage about it. Until he reached the page he was looking for. “Ah! 1378!”

Ace shrugged. “Don’t worry. I don’t know the exact year.”

Jonah pouted. “Then, why are you quizzing me?”

“Hey, that’s part of learning,” Ace grinned.

Deuce rolled his eyes. But then he looked like he just remembered something. “Oh. I have something that might help.” He opened his back and took out a book, sliding it on the table so it reached Jonah. “Those are my notes from history of magic. I highlighted everything important.”

Jonah opened the book with Grim peering from the side. The cat’s eyes widened, looking at the colorful marker on the pages. “You highlighted everything!”

“Which means everything is important.” Jonah closed the book and smiled at Deuce. “I need to memories this Thank you, Deuce.”

Deuce sat up straight, feeling proud that he had helped someone today. “Anytime, Captain.”

* * *

“Okay. Let’s try herbology,” Epel said when the small gang gathered in the Botanical Garden’s Temperate Zone, in front of a long table filled with pot and plants that sprouted from the soil.

Epel put on his earmuff, pressing it a few times against his ears to make sure it was secure or not. “You know how to re-pot a mandragora, right?”

Jonah nodded. Meanwhile Ace was groaning. “Ugh… I have terrible memories with those plants…”

Epel laughed, clearly remembered what happened during that particular scene. “Mandragora is a powerful restorative. You can make various potions with mandragoras, like the mandrake restorative draught to cure petrified victims. The cry of the mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it, but when it’s still a seed the cry just knocks you out for several hours.”

Epel went to reach one of the mandragora stems. “So, you just grab your mandragora tightly-”

“Earmuff, ready?” Jack asked. Deuce nodded and Ace gave him a thumbs up.

Unfortunately with Jonah, he was fumbling when he was supposed to wear his earmuff. “Wha-”

“And you just… Pull it off the pot!” At that point, Epel ripped the mandragora sprout off the ground. Screech banshee-like filled the room. Epel stretched out his hand, trying to keep the mandragora away from his eardrum.

Jack and Grim covered their earmuff, giving it more pressure to protect their sensitive ear. Even Ace and Deuce could still hear the screeched.

But Jonah’s eyes just rolled upward and he closed his eyes, falling to the ground like a ragdoll.

“Captain!” Ace was the first one to reach the fallen boy, kneeling beside him as he rolled Jonah to lay on his back.

“Oh no!” Epel quickly threw the mandragora into an empty pot and knelt as well. “What’s wrong?”

Ace checked on Jonah before noticing that small gap between the ar and the earmuff. “His earmuff isn’t that tight." he sighed. "Welp. Looks like we won’t be studying for the next few hours.”

* * *

“Jonah?”

“Huh?” Jonah turned his head from the library window to a worried-looking Deuce. “What were you saying?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the blunette asked again. “We can take a break if you want.”

Jonah shook his head. “No. I’m fine.” He ran a hand down his face. “What was the question again?”

“Can you give us a small explanation about the Orion constellation?”

For the first time, Jonah grinned widely. “Oh! I know this!” He reached one of the scrolls and unrolled it, presenting a group of stars connected with some lines. “The Orion constellation is shaped like a warrior, but it was referred to as a shepherd back in time. Named after the hunter in mythology. The brightest stars are blue-white Rigel or Beta-Orionis, and red Betelgeuse, or Alpha-Orionis.”

Ace raised an eyebrow at this. He looked up from the star chart to Jonah. “We don’t learn this in class. How do you know this?”

Jonah shrugged. “The Orion constellation is probably the most recognizable of them all, so it’s used by many sailors to navigate their way through the sea.” He let out a small chuckle. “I guess I really like learning about stars and navigations.”

“I’m not even surprised,” Ace said, resting an elbow on the table and his chin on his knuckle. “Of course you would connect it with your pirate tendencies.”

Jonah smiled. “Eh, he. Unfortunately, this is pretty much useless in the test.” The bright smile dimmed, replaced by a tired expression as the captain sighed. “You know, I’ve been setting the bar really low by now. I just want to pass the test.”

Jonah reached for the star chart and grabbed his telescope and the list of star names. He walked toward the window and pointed his telescope toward the sky. He could hear the sound of scrapping chair against the carpet, followed by Deuce’s voice. “Hey. Want to grab something to eat first? It’s nearly dinner time.”

Without even looking at them, Jonah answered, “You guys can go ahead without me.”

“Jonah, you’ve been studying the whole day,” Ace said. “Time to take a break.”

“Let me just finish memorizing this list of star names,” Jonah said again, still not looking at them. “I’ll catch up with you guys.”

He didn’t hear a response. After a few moments of silence, he heard the sound of footsteps walking away and the air suddenly got cold. Jonah knew he was alone. He let out a sigh, lowering his telescope and rubbing his eyes. Despite astronomy being the only lesson he like, he couldn’t help but feel tired. _Maybe he could just sleep for a moment..._

_Wait. No._

He slapped his cheeks a few times to refresh himself. _No. He needs to pass this test. He can’t rest now. What kind of captain doesn’t set himself as an example for his crew?_

Picking up his telescope again, he continued his study in the name of every bright star he could see.

_He needs to pass this test. For himself. And for his crew._

_He just can’t disappoint them._

* * *

“Man, he’s really studying hard,” Ace said, playing with his macaroni on his plate. “You know, compare to us.”

Deuce nodded, setting his spoon next to his empty plate. “Yeah, we have advantages with magic but we’re not even serious with this.”

“Wait. Are you saying we slacked off?” Ace glared at him, in which Deuce answered with a huff.

“I’m saying compare to Jonah, we’re taking this lightly,” he said, resting his chin on his propped up arm. “But, he’s not the only one worried here.” _He just can’t make his mother cry again._

“Damn straight.” Ace groaned, running his hand down his hair. “There’s a lot to study. We need to cramp-up all those textbooks.”

Grim’s ears went down, hugging a sandwich in a plastic wrapper for Jonah. “Kinda wish we can find a way to study easier.”

“Oh my, what is wrong? You’re making such long faces.”

A pair of shadows suddenly towered over them. When the three heads looked up to see the culprit, they say the familiar identical face with teal hair and heterochromia eyes. One of them let out his signature goofy smile as he waved his hand at them. “What’s wrong, little fishie?”

“Gah!” Grim screamed. “Jonah’s co-worker!”

The calmer one chuckled. “It seemed we hadn’t properly introduced ourselves despite meeting each other multiple times.” He put a hand on his chest and bowed slightly as a formal greeting. “I am Jade Leech, and this is my twin brother, Floyd.” Straightening up again, he looked at each one of his juniors. “Now then, let us go back to our main topic. Could it be that what’s troubling you is connected to the upcoming final exam?”

Ace frowned. “How do you know?”

“We had some people with the same problem,” Jade explained. “All of them are afraid they might fail in the test.”

“Well, duh.” Ace rolled his eyes. “Nobody wants bad grade, you know?”

“That is very true. May I suggest a solution?”

The three of them shut their mouth. Their eyes focused on Jade who smiled at him. “Why don’t you three come with us to Mostro Lounge and we’ll bring you to Azul?”

“Jonah’s boss?” Grim asked. “The mafia boss?”

Floyd nodded eagerly. “Yup~ Azul can solve any problems. For example…” He smiled, showing his shark-like teeth. “He has some pretty neat notes to study for the exams.”

“Notes?” Deuce asked.

“Uh-huh. It’s way easier to study if you can guess what type of question will come out, right?” Floyd said. “Azul’s notes are really amazing, easy to read, and were made just for guppies like you.”

The three juniors exchange glances. “That’s sound…” Deuce muttered.

“Actually pretty neat,” Ace finished and Deuce nodded at this.

Grim hummed and looked up to the twins again. “How can we know you’re not lying?”

Jade chuckled. “Azul is a very compassionate person much like the Sea Witch of the Great Seven. I am sure that he will listen to your worries.”

They didn’t know why but they felt as if the twins were towering over them even more. They had this dangerous glint in their eyes and their smile were dangerous. Every part of them radiating the aura that rang the alarm bell in their mind. They should’ve been talking to them. _But they had no choice in this short amount of time. They were desperate. Every chance they were given might be a blessing in disguise._

Ace sighed. “Fine. We’ll be the judge.”

“Wonderful,” Jade said as he and Floyd let out a similar chuckle. “Shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So any Harry Potter reference here, especially from book 1. I never actually read Harry Potter, just some Hogwarts AU fanfics. All info I got from the Wiki.
> 
> Alright, we’re officially entering Merchant of the Deep Sea!  
> Starting slow with some fluff for the first two/three chapters, because I need to set the scene first. Also to show you guys the captain is still stupid.


	79. When You Have a Problem, Think, Think, Think! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The studying continues but the captain is just too tired to put up with this.  
> Also suspicious Azul is suspicious.

“Alright, you dogs. The time’s up. Submit all your answer sheets.”

Jonah let out a groan as he slammed his forehead onto the table, weakly raising his answer sheet for Grim to take. He let out a loud yawn as he rubbed his eye. That was only the second test and he was already so exhausted. He had been pulling an all-nighter repeatedly that he was sure his eyesight had gotten worse.

“Captain?”

Jonah looked up toward Ace and Deuce who walked toward his table. “Hey, guys...” he gave him a weak wave.

“How was it for you?” Ace asked.

Jonah yawned. “I don’t know... I sort gave up by the time I reach the gargoyle part.”

Ace and Deuce exchanged a glance with each other. Then, Ace perked up. “How about we study at Heartslabyul today? I’m sure Trey can make us some tea.”

“Yes!” Grim cheered. He shook Jonah’s shoulder. “We need to feed that brain of yours some vitamin.”

Jonah lifted his head and ran his hand down his face. “Tea sound nice...”

Ace nodded eagerly. “That’s right. Tea and cake. That’ll lift your spirit.”

Jonah hummed as he gathered his stuff and walked with the boys out of his classroom. Maybe if he wasn’t so tired, he would notice how Ace kept his hand on his shoulder or how Deuce was walking a few steps behind him just in case he would suddenly fell from exhaustion. Grim was flying in front of them, leading the way. However, he suddenly stopped and Jonah nearly crashed into him if it weren’t for Ace pulling him. That surely woke him up.

“Guys, what’s wrong?”

He felt Ace grip on his shoulder tightened and Grim’s tail swishing dangerously. Looking past the cat, Jonah noticed a familiar group walking toward him, the one in the center greeted him with a nod. “Jonah.”

Jonah nodded back. “Hey there, Senior Azul.”

Azul looked at him from up and down. “You don’t look so fine.”

Jonah chuckled weakly before he was cut off by his own yawn. “I was... Tired. My brain is steaming.”

Azul chuckled. “Ah, working hard, are we?”

“Yeah.” He then realized something. “Oh, and Senior Azul.”

“Yes?”

“Umm...” Jonah rubbed behind his neck sheepishly. “I don’t think I can go to work today.”

“And why is that?”

Jonah winched. Azul didn't sound like he was judging him, but he still felt bad for this. “Look. I really need to pass this! So, uh... I promise I’ll work overtime once we finish the test.”

Azul laughed. “Why do you act like I’m about to fire you?” Azul walked toward him and put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him slightly away from the group. “So, you are asking for some days off.” Jonah gave him a small nod. Azul chuckled. “That wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Eh?”

“In fact, how about I give you an order: I don’t want to see you in Mostro Lounge until the next semester.”

Jonah frowned. “Are you sure you’re not firing me?”

Azul laughed. “Of course not~ Why would I fire my favorite employee?”

Maybe it was just his imagination but Jonah felt like Azul gained some height slightly because his shadow completely covered his small figure as he towered over him. “In all seriousness, Mister Argentum?” _Did his voice also become deeper?_ “For the next few days, I don’t want you to enter Mostro Lounge. I have some personal business these days and I don’t want anyone to get involved.”

Jonah frowned. “Can I ask what is this business?”

Azul actually glared at him. _A warning sign._ “It’s a secret for anyone besides me and the Leech twins.”

Jonah frowned deepened. “Final order, Boss?”

Azul nodded. “Yes.”

Jonah sighed, raising both of his hands, surrendering. “Fine. Fine.” He stepped back, glad that he was out of Azul’s shadow. “I’ll keep my hand away from you.”

Azul pushed his glasses up his nose. “Glad we can have a compromise, Mister Argentum.”

Jonah hummed, looking back to his friends who for some reason seemed to try their best to stay away from the Leech twins. “Guys, let’s go.”

All of them gave a collective affirmation and thus they walked away. Jonah glanced back again, seeing that the Octavinelle Trio were also walking away in the opposite direction. Though, he noticed how Azul also glanced back. Both of their eyes met and for some reason, Jonah felt chill.

_He felt like he was missing something important..._

* * *

“Alright, Captain, this is an easy one. What are the uses of the philosopher’s stone?”

There wasn’t any answer.

“Captain?”

Looking up, they saw Jonah already fell asleep, head rested on the arm of the sofa and book had fallen off his lap. He was snoring softly, probably extremely exhausted. Paying close attention to him, they would notice the bags under his eyes or how some of his hair slipped out from his ponytail from the constant hair-messing he did.

“Should we wake him up?” Deuce whispered to Ace. The ginger-head looked at Jonah one more time from top to bottom before shaking his head.

“Nah. Let him rest,” Ace whispered back.

Grim flew toward and picked up the fallen book before coming back to their lounge table. “He fell asleep on his desk last night. Stupid captain pulling an all-nighter again.”

Ace sighed. “Damn. If only there’s something we can do.”

“Too bad we can’t share out notes,” Grim muttered.

“And why is that?”

The three of them jumped in their seat at the sound and turned toward the source. Riddle walked toward them, carrying some books under his arm. “Why can’t you share your notes if you want to help him?” the prefect asked again.

“Well...” Ace scratched the back of his head. “You see...”

“This note is...” Deuce clicked his tongue. “Sort of magical.”

Riddle raised an eyebrow. “How?” He stretched out his hand and Ace gave him his book of notes. Flipping through the pages, Riddle frowned. “There’s nothing on this.”

“That’s the thing,” Ace said. “Only the owner of the book can read what’s on it.”

“And since Jonah didn't own one, he can't read it,” Grim added, ears down. “And I thought we can help him with this.”

Riddle looked up to the sleeping boy then sighed. “Maybe I can help,” he said, giving the book back to Ace.

Ace blinked in surprise. “You can?”

The corner of Riddle’s lips curled up. “As the prefect of Heartslabyul, I won’t let even just one student fail or get expelled from this dorm. But first...” He looked up at Jonah again. “We need to get him into a more comfortable place.”

* * *

The first thing Jonah noticed when he regained his consciousness was the softness underneath him. Scrunching his eyes before opening up slowly, he felt his body was less tired now. Getting up slowly, he rubbed his eye, trying to make his brain work again.

“Ah. You’re awake.”

Jonah blinked several times before looking up to the source of the voice. “Senior Riddle?” The captain looked around the room. He was sitting in a bed bigger than the one in his room and with fluffier pillows and a softer blanket. He noticed the various red color spread around the room, from the curtain on the bed to the wallpaper. “Am I still in Heartslabyul?”

“Yes.” Riddle walked toward him, a book in his hand. “You’re in my room actually.”

“Your room?” Jonah scrunched up his forehead again. _How did he get here? He remembered he was studying with Ace and Deuce then- Oh._ “Oh geez. I fell asleep, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Riddle said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You know, you should’ve forced your body to study all the time.”

“But didn’t you do that?” Jonah mumbled under his breath. He instantly regretted it from the way Riddle tensed up. “Sorry.”

The redhead shook his head. “It’s okay.” He leaned to the wall next to the bed. “But not everyone spent the same studying methods as I do. I’ve been studying like this since I was a child. I’m used to it and it’s actually perfect for me.” He turned his head toward the smaller boy. “But even I have time to rest.”

Jonah hummed. “That is true.”

Riddle nodded. “Oh. Here.” He gave the book to Jonah who accepted it. The boy opened the book. It was filled with notes for alchemy, written in very neat handwriting which made it even easier to read.

“Is this your handwriting?” Jonah asked, flipping through the pages.

“Yes. Those are my alchemy notes back when I was still in first-year,” Riddle explained. “Hopefully there isn’t much change with this year's curriculum.”

“Wow...” Jonah closed the book again. “Uh...” he scratched his chin sheepishly. “You think I can borrow this?”

“Of course.” Riddle smiled a little at him. “You can borrow my other notes too.”

“Thanks, Senior Riddle!” Jonah grinned so widely at him, looking way better than his tired expression previously. “You’re a life-saver.”

Riddle quickly covered his mouth and turned his head away, hoping to hide his bright red cheeks. “Y-You’re welcome.”

* * *

“Alright.” Crewel tapped his cigarette holder to his palm, watching the tense look on the students' faces. “Your two hours test starts now!”

Jonah quickly flipped his answer sheet, writing his name on the top corner along with his seat number. The test was surprisingly less stressful than the previous one. He could answer some of the questions even avoid those trap-choices in the multiple choices section. Though the essay part was another problem, he felt way more confident this time. Maybe it was because Riddle’s note was exactly what he needed, or because Grim forced him to go to bed early so he wasn’t so tired, or maybe because of that half-burnt toast, the ghosts tried to make for his breakfast so now he didn’t need to think in an empty stomach.

_There are those who are looking out for him..._

_Alright._ Gripping his pen tightly, Jonah started to write his answer.

_He will pass this for then._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. A way shorter chapter than last time because I mostly want to set up Jonah and Azul's plot point. The next chapter will probably be the past of the final exam section.


	80. Get an Answer, Try It Now! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final exam COMPLETED!

"Let's try this again," Riddle stated, looking up from his note to his junior who was walking next to him. "How do you brew wiggenweld potion?"

Jonah took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." He raised both of his hands. His right hand moved as if he was pouring something from a bottle. "First, add salamander blood until it turns red." With his left hand, he moved like he was stirring something. "Then, stir it until it turned orange." He then repeated those actions as he continued listing the colors. "Keep adding salamander blood and stirring it so it changes color multiple times. Red, orange, yellow, then green." He pulled his left hand and changed his movement to somewhat resemblance to turning on a stove. "Then, keep adding salamander blood, but this time just heats it. It'll change color from turquoise, indigo, pink, purple, and finally red again." He quickly pulled his hand, stopping. "And then... Uh..." He tapped his chin, trying to think.

Riddle nodded. "Then?" he asked. "Something about Leona swimming..."

"Oh!" Jonah snapped his fingers. "Lionfish!" He raised his right hand again, moving it like he was dropping something, while his left hand moved like he was adjusting the stove heat. "Add the five lionfish spine, heat it until it turns yellow, then add five more. Then, we add fiber moccus."

"Ah!" Riddle raised his finger, moving it in a 'tut-tut-tut' motion. "Said it correctly."

Jonah frowned. "Uh... Fiber... No. Flounder."

Riddle sighed. "It rhymes with 'cobbler germ' and starts with 'flo'"

Jonah thought hard again. "Cobbler-germ... Flobber-germ... Flobbler-germ... Wait." He tapped his forehead. "Wait. I think. Flobbler... Flobber... Germ... Sperm... Worm..." He turned to Riddle. "Is it... 'Flobberworm'?"

Riddle nodded. "Correct! It's flobberworm mucus."

Jonah smiled widely. "Ah-ha! I got it!"

"But we're not done yet," Riddle added.

Jonah nodded. "Right." Jonah moved his hand again, his right hand was pouring something while his left hand stirred. "Add flobberworm mucus until it turns purple, then stir it until it became red. Repeat, so it changes color again from orange to yellow. Then add honey water until it turns turquoise color. After that, add a few drop of boom berry juice. Stir it and let it simmer for thirty minutes." His movement changed into a somewhat resemblance to moving a hot pot. "Take it off the heat, let it cool, and it can be used!"

Riddle smiled at him as he closed his book. "Well done."

Jonah did a little skip. "I did it!" He sighed. "I think I'm ready."

They stopped in front of Jonah's homeroom. The smaller boy turned to Riddle. "Thanks for helping, Senior Riddle. I'll return the notes after the exam."

Riddle nodded. "Not a problem. And uh..." Riddle averted his gaze. "Good luck."

Jonah grinned. "'Gotcha. You too."

Riddle walked away as Jonah walked into the classroom. Giving a small wave to Ace and Deuce across the room, Jonah headed to his seat where Grim was still reading his notes-book.

"So, for the application for this problem..." mumbled the cat, never realizing that Jonah had sat on the chair beside him. "If two choices remain, I simply..."

"Morning, Grim." Jonah tapped lightly on Grim's back.

"GYAAAH!" The cat jumped in his seat. He glared at Jonah. "Don't scare me like that! I'll forget everything!"

Jonah laughed. "Sorry, sorry~"

Grim huffed. "This is the last day of the exam." He grinned. "We better let out everything we got."

Jonah nodded, pumping his fist. "Right. Let's do this."

* * *

The bell suddenly rang, just as Jonah finished fixing his last answer. "Time is up, you dogs. Put your pens down obediently, and pass your answer sheets forward. That concludes all of the written exams for this class."

The heavy air in the room was suddenly lifted. Jonah let out a sigh of relief while Grim pumped up his paws to the air, cheering, "Ya-hoo!"

Crewel frowned at the sudden excitement among the students. He picked up his ruler and slammed it onto the teacher's desk. "SIT!"

Everyone immediately shut up. Crewel hummed in satisfaction. "It’s still too early to celebrate. All the bad boys that will get failing marks will be taking remedial classes over wassalia break." A sadistic smile formed on the teacher's face. "I will whip you into shape, so be ready."

There a collective sound of people gulping which made Crewel chuckled. He gathered his stuff and walked out the door. "Class dismissed."

Jonah closed his bag as Grim perched up to his shoulder. He walked toward Ace and Deuce.

"Ah~!" Ace stretched his arms. "It’s finally over!"

"I did all that I could." Deuce smile was so bright it could lit the whole room. "All that’s left is to wait for the results.

"Ahaha!" Grim laughed. "A test like this’s a piece of cake for me!"

Ace grinned at Jonah. "How was it, Captain? You normally make such defeated faces after a test~"

Jonah laughed. "Well, this better be worth it."

"It will be. If Grim can do this, so can you."

"What do you mean 'if Grim can do it"'?!" Grim landed on the table and puffed out his chest proudly. "I’m different from the past me already, yanno. Be prepared to ask me for help with your studies next time! I’ll be waiting to hear 'What a genius you are, Grim', yanno!"

Deuce rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I am pretty confident this time. I’ll be taking that glory for myself."

"Pretty rich hearing that from the same dude who cried his eyes out because he barely passed," Ace grinned. Deuce smacked the back of the ginger's head.

The blunette picked up his bag and stood up from his seat. "Anyway, I'm heading to the track-and-field club."

"I’m gonna play basketball and exercise ‘til I drop," Ace said. "Alright, see you all later then."

"Let’s go back home, too, Jonah." Grim flew back to the boy's shoulder, ears dropping from exhaustion. "I studied so hard that I’m feeling super sleepy now."

Jonah chuckled. "Yeah, let's go. But I'll be dropping at Heartslabyul to return Senior Riddle's book. What do you want for dinner, Grim?"

"I want a banquet!" Grim yelled, his ears shot up again. "I miss homemade cooking."

Jonah laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll make you a seafood paella."

* * *

There was a knock on the door and Riddle immediately stood up and ran toward it. Fixing the small wrinkle on his uniform, making sure he looked presentable, he grabbed the door handle and twisted it opened. Trey stood there, carrying his afternoon tea and snacks, along with Jonah who had a heavy plastic in his hands.

“Were you expecting someone, Riddle?” Trey asked.

Riddle averted his gaze. “You can say that.”

Trey chuckled. “Well, lucky that I prepared extra.”

Trey lied. He had heard him mumbling about Jonah’s arrival which he didn’t know exactly when for the other boy never really specify when was ‘after the exam’. When it was nearly time for tea time, Riddle tried to prepare it himself, just in case Jonah arrived around that hour. That was when Trey came in and decided to help while Riddle prepared himself in his bedroom like usual.

Of course, Trey would find this amusing, knowing how Riddle was very nervous about a friend visiting. Though, Trey obviously also noticed that light blush on Riddle’s cheek. _This was beyond nervousness..._

Riddle stepped aside, opening the door wider for them. “Come in.”

Trey walked in first, followed by Jonah. “Here.” Jonah lifted the plastic bag for Riddle to take. “Again. Thank you so much, Senior Riddle. It really helped me.”

As Trey set the table, he looked up just in time for Riddle to let out his small yet sweet smile. “You are welcome.”

The prefect walked toward his bookcase, putting back the book. Trey hummed in satisfaction when he finished setting up the table. Riddle’s new favorite strawberry tea along with some blueberry rose scone and strawberry jam on the side. Trey looked up to Jonah. “Would you like to join us, Jonah?”

Riddle froze and didn’t dare to turn back. Jonah hummed. “I’m just here to drop by. I’ll leave if I disturb something.”

Trey noticed the way Riddle’s shoulders sagged a bit. _Oh, that won’t do._ “Don’t worry about it. Riddle wouldn’t mind a company. Besides, you have to try this scone.”

Jonah hummed again before he finally sighed. “Okay. Then. One scone.”

Riddle suddenly turned around. “Of course.” He took a quick walked toward the table. “Please, have a seat.”

Jonah laughed. “No need to be so formal, Senior Riddle.” Jonah walked toward the table and sat on one of the chairs. Riddle followed him, sitting across Jonah.

Trey hummed. _Good._ “Oh, I forget the orange marmalade. Be right back.” Riddle and Jonah watched Trey left the room, pulling the door behind him, but still leaving a small gap.

Not wanting to feel awkward, Riddle picked up the teapot. “Tea, Jonah?”

Jonah nodded, lifting his cup. “Don’t mind if I do.” Riddle smiled as he poured the tea for the boy, then for himself. Sipping it, Riddle enjoyed the warmth and the sweetness on his tongue.

Jonah picked up a scone, carefully not to drop some of the dried rose petals on the floor. Ripping it a bit, Jonah popped the piece into his mouth. “Oh, it has rose water in it.”

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth.” Riddle frowned at him, lowering his cup.

Jonah laughed. “Sorry. Sorry.” He gulped. “So, what are you doing after this exam?”

“Well, there will be an End of Semester Party held by each dorm,” Riddle said, picking up a scone and applying a bit of the strawberry jam on it. “We’re here in Heartslabyul will be having our Good-Bye Tea Party.”

“Heeh~ Really?” Jonah put his scone on his plate and reached for his cup. “I wonder if I can do that for Ramshackle Dorm. Grim always enjoy a feast.” He slowly drank it, closing his eyes to savor the sweetness.

“Well, maybe-”

The door moved slightly and Riddle raised an eyebrow when he saw Cater and Trey behind it. _Were they eavesdropping? How long they’ve been there. How rude. And going against the Rule of the Queen of Hearts. He’ll have their head later._

But Cater suddenly moved his mouth widely without sound. Riddle squinted his eyes. Trying to make out what he was trying to say.

_IN… VITE…_

_In… Vite…_

_Invite…_

_Invite?_

_What?_

Riddle mouthed back ‘what?’ Cater looked like he wanted to smack his head. He tried again.

_TEA… PAR… TY…_

_Tea… Par… Ty…_

_Tea party…_

_Invite… Tea party?_

Knowing that Riddle still couldn’t get it, Trey pointed at Jonah. This only made Riddle frowned even more.

_Invite tea party Jonah?_

_Tea party Jonah invite?_

_Invite Jonah tea party-_

_Wait. What was that?_

_Invite Jonah to the tea party…_

Riddle’s face became red in an instance, mouthing a panic ‘WHAT?!’ to Cater and Trey. Both of them just gave him a reassurance look. Jonah lowered his cup once he finished with his tea. He looked up to Riddle and saw his red face. “Hey. Are you okay?”

Riddle squeaked. “H-Huh?”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. “Your face is red.”

“Is it?” Riddle covered his mouth in embarrassment.

“If you’re sick I can leave now-”

“Wait!” Riddle immediately shouted. Jonah paused, confused. Behind the door, Cater and Trey stared intensely at the scene. Riddle looked up to his seniors, looking rather terrified. Trey mouthed ‘you can do this’, while Cater nodded repeatedly at him. Riddle bit inside his cheek. _Come on. He can do this. He had invited various guests to his tea party. This shouldn’t be nerve-wracking._

Riddle cleared his throat, trying to calm himself. “Sorry that I shouted.”

Jonah shook his head. “It’s okay.” He then frowned. “But, seriously, is there something wrong?”

“N-No. Not really,” Riddle said rather quickly. “Well… I…” He cleared his throat again. “If you don’t have any early planning for your End of Semester Party, you can…” Riddle’s cheek became red again. “You can…”

Trey and Cater kept giving Riddle some encouragement gestures. _You can do this Riddle. You’ll be fine. We’re here for you._

“Well. If you don’t have any plans yet…” _He was repeating himself. Keep it together, Riddle Rosehearts!_ Riddle took a deep breath and let it out. “You can… You can join our tea party…”

_That was horrible. Terrible, I say! How lame. He could make a better invitation than that! What is wrong with him?! Jonah is going to decline. There are better words to invite people. What’s wrong with his vocabulary-?!_

Jonah laughed. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Riddle blinked, bursting out from his bubble of negative thinking. “Eh?”

“There’s no need to be nervous, Senior Riddle.” Underneath the table, Jonah’s foot tapped Riddle’s, giving him some reassurance. “I’ll come to your party.”

Riddle’s eyes widened. “You will?”

Jonah grinned. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Riddle smiled so widely. He glanced toward the door. Trey gave him a thumbs-up while Cater silently clapped. _A job well done._

_Now. All they need to do is to make sure this party goes as perfect as it can be._

* * *

"Why did you ignore my summons for you yesterday? Do you understand the current position you are in?"

The Octavinelle student was trembling even though Azul didn't do anything. He rested his cheek on his right knuckle, arm propped up and elbow on the table. He crossed his leg, moving his foot to follow the rhythm of the ticking clock. The Leech Twins stood by his side, both of them having their signature sadistic smile.

"I had an upset stomach yesterday, so I..."

Azul rolled his eyes at the student rambling. "Really, now? Lying will not play in your favor."

The Octavinelle student looked even more scared. "I-it’s true! My stomach hurt so badly, and I..."

Azul sighed loudly, shutting up the trembling student in front of him. He glanced to the side toward one of the Leech Twins. "Jade, please make it so that he will be able to speak with us more honestly." 

Jade nodded. "Understood."

Before the student could even realize what was about to happen, Jade has suddenly stepped into his view. The boy stood tall towering over the poor student. He let out a chuckle. "Come now..." Jade reached for the student's chin, gripping it tight so he wouldn't be able to turn his head, and tilted his head so both of them stare straight eye to eye. **_"[There is no need to be afraid; I only want to help you]_**." A magic circle suddenly appeared in Jade's eyes. **_"[Shock the Heart]_**."

"Wh-what was that just now…!?" the student squeaked, not even realizing that he also had a pair of magic circles in his eyes.

Jade hummed, lowering his hand from the boy's chin, and took a step backward. "Now then, let me ask you again," he said, smiling ever so wickedly. "Why did you not answer Azul’s summons yesterday?"

The Octavinelle student gulped. "That’s..." 

The magic circles in his eyes flashed and the boy suddenly scoffed. "I’ve had enough of being used by that wicked, scheming bastard Azul! It’s obvious that I was lying, ain’t it?"

Jade chuckled. "Oh? I see it now. So that is what you really feel, is it not?"

The Octavinelle student blinked as the magic circles in his eyes flashed and disappeared. "...What–!?" The boy suddenly became pale. His knees trembled even more. "I just suddenly said what’s on my mind–!!"

Azul sighed dramatically. "Ah, what an upsetting result. I am so shocked." There was a dangerous glint in his eyes as he stared down at the student. "And right after I granted your wish to uphold the Sea Witch’s benevolence… And yet you still call me wicked and scheming?"

"I’m sorry…! You’ve got it wrong, that was–!!"

Azul suddenly stood up, smiling sadistically at the poor boy. "Hm, it is already too late to take your words back!" He glanced at the other Leech twin. "Floyd. It is your turn."

"You guys are finally done talking~?" Floyd stepped forward. Once again, the Octavinelle student was being towered. "Can I start squeezing tightly?"

Azul nodded. "Yes, go ahead. Do it to your heart’s content."

"Okay~"

The Octavinelle student tried to step back, but Floyd was faster. The taller boy stepped behind him, the tips of his magical pen pressed against his back. "P-please wait! Please give me another chance—"

The poor boy suddenly felt electricity coursed through his body. He was screaming in pain, but unable to escape. Floyd was giggling as he watched the poor fish twitching wildly, while Azul and Jade didn't even say a word, just enjoying the show.

Quickly feeling bored, Floyd pulled back his pen, stopping his shock. The Octavinelle student fell to the floor, his body still twitching from the aftermath.

Azul sighed. "Good grief. We keep getting good-for-nothings who always end up beaten unconscious on payment deadlines," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "If you buy it, you pay for it. If you borrow, you return it. Such obvious policies."

Jade nodded. "Indeed, it is as you say."

Azul spun around, his outer coat fluttered behind him like a cape. "It would be nice if we got more decent clients this year…"

"Indeed." The Leech twins chuckled. "I am looking forward to the results of the tests."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m pretty sure all Heartslabyul is a ROnah shipper.  
> This is the last of the final exam section. Next time, we will be officially entering the canon plot.  
> I'll be writing a 'Behind the Fic' for these three chapters


	81. Announcement of Results! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH, EPEL, AND JACK: *pointing at the anemones* WHAT ARE THOSE?!

“Oi! Barret!” Grim’s yelling could be heard when Jonah entered the kitchen. Grim and Barret were glaring at each other while Lou and Soo sat on top of the fridge, watching the show.

“This chicken is undercook!” Grim yelled, swinging his chicken on a skewer. “We'll get a stomachache if we ate one!”

“You ate one but you didn’t get one!” Barret yelled back. “Besides, the rarer the meat, the more original the taste!”

“That doesn’t work for chickens, you dumb ghost!”

“What are you guys making today?” Jonah asked, as he opened the fridge and took out the orange juice carton.

“Just some chicken on the skewer,” Lou answered. “We don’t want it to be burnt to crisp, so we only grilled it for five seconds.”

Jonah chuckled, reaching for a glass to pour his juice. “You know you can just lower the heat.”

“We know,” Soo shrugged. “We just think this is more entertaining.”

Jonah rolled his eyes and turned around as he leaned back against the counter, watching the fight and sipping on his juice.

“Well then.” Barret leaned forward, his face nearly pressing onto Grim. “If you know better about cooking than me, prove it!”

“Oh, I’ll show you!” Grim leaned back, holding both ends of the skewer with his paws. “With my fire, I can burn this chicken into perfection!” Grim puffed up his cheek, ready to spit his flame-

“Umpft!” Grim held his breath for a few seconds. Jonah frowned at this. _Was he… Hesitating? That’s weird. Grim would never miss the chance to show off his power_. The cat let out a huff. “It’ll be useless if I use my power. You can’t learn from that.”

Barret snickered. “What’s a matter? Cat got your tongue?”

Grim hissed again. “I’m not a cat!”

“Okay. Okay.” Jonah finally decided to step up, snatching the skewer from Grim’s hand and turned on the stove. “Did you guys cook the rice yet?”

Barret and Grim paled. “N-No…” the ghost muttered.

Jonah sighed. “Then, can I get help for that?”

Barret beamed. “Right away.”

As Jonah placed the chicken on to the griller again, he sometimes stole glances toward Grim. The cat didn’t look weak or sick. He looked fine, just like usual. Jonah bit inside his cheek. _Maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe he ran out of energy after those whole final exams, just like him. Maybe he could make up some mood booster after this. Hopefully, he didn’t need to take Grim to the vet._

* * *

“Alright, you dogs,” Crewel stated as the class. In his hands, he was holding a stack of paper. He smacked the back of his hand onto it. “Before we begin, first, I’ll be distributing your test papers.”

From the other side of the classroom, Deuce took a deep breath. “It’s finally time.”

“Nyaha!” Grim cheered from his seat. “Test results, come to papa~!”

“Stay, Grim, stay!” scolded Crewel. “I’ll start calling your seat numbers, so come up here and get them. Number 1!”

After the first two students, it was Jonah and Grim’s turned. Crewel gave the paper back to them but Jonah noticed how the teacher’s lips curled up. “You’ve done well,” he said. Jonah blinked. Both Grim and him went back to their seat as the teacher continued calling his students.

Grim was the first one to flip his paper. He let out a squeal. “Look, Jonah!” he screamed, shoving the paper in front of Jonah's face. On the corner of the page, there were numbers written with blue ink. In the scoring, the blue mark usually means you passed the average score, while red means you get below that. “I got 85 points!”

Jonah laughed, ruffling the top of Grim’s head. “Good job, Grim!”

The cat purred at that. “Come on, come on! What’s your score?” The cat was about to reach it but Jonah quickly slammed his hand.

“Wait! I need to compose myself!” Jonah took a deep breath. _This is it. All his time dedicated to his studies. All those late-night coffee and cafeteria breakfast he had to consume for this._ Jonah slowly reached for the paper. He could hear his heart beating fast. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Here we go!_ He quickly flipped the paper but didn’t open his eyes. _Was it bad? Was it good? Did he pass?_

He heard Grim gasped. “Jonah, look!”

Jonah slowly opened one of his eyes, only for him to quickly widened when he saw the score. The mark, for once, was blue, something that Jonah rarely got. And to add the shock, the amount of point that he got.

_91._

_His score was 91._

_That was an A._

“I got an A…” he muttered. _This is… This is unbelievable. He passed and got an A? How did that happen?_ “Sweet Nebula…”

Grim cheered and patted his back repeatedly. “Good job, Jonah! Now you don’t need to join another remedial class!”

Jonah collapsed on his table, sighing loudly. “Finally… I can now at least end the semester with a C+…”

Grim laughed. “Don’t be like that! Cheer up, Jonah! This is still the first semester! Don’t be that stressed.” Jonah just let out a weak chuckle, still quite shocked but extremely happy with the result.

Across the room, Ace and Deuce had a similar scene. “Alright!” Ace cheered, looking at the blue mark on his paper. “That’s 92 points for me!”

“88 points!?” Deuce looked like he was about to burst into tears of happiness. “To think that the day I would get over 80 would come, I’m…!”

Ace laughed. “Finally making you mama proud, mama boy?”

“Don’t call me ‘mama boy’!” Deuce sniffled in embarrassment. “I don’t have to worry about repeating a year now…” Ace just laughed and pat Deuce on the shoulder.

Crewel hummed in satisfaction. “You all studied pretty well this time. Compared to the quiz the other day, it’s…”

He paused, his smile turned into a frown. “No, it still feels a little too suspicious for me…” he muttered in the end. But the whole class could hear him.

“Suspicious?” Ace repeated. “What do you mean, Teach?”

Crewel frowned deepened. “Everyone in your year all scored an average of 90 points for alchemy. I heard from Professor Trein that your scores for history of magic were quite good, too.”

“Wha-?!” The way Grim yelled made Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. Looking across the room, he saw Ace and Deuce looked shocked as well.

“The names of the top 50 highest scorers will be posted by the hallway, so look forward to it,” Crewel continued and Jonah didn’t miss the sound of Grim gulping loudly as if he was anticipating something. “Alright, let’s begin. Open your textbooks.”

* * *

The end of school hours finally arrived. Jonah ran through the hall, along with some students. Ace, Deuce, and Grim had ditched him earlier, wanting to look at the ranking announcement as fast as he could. While he didn’t much care about the ranking (he doubt he could reach that high), it was quite a surprise that the other three cared about it. Like it meant something. _Something very important._

He finally reached the announcement board and, boy, it was crowded. He could see Grim having an advantage, flying above the other students, reading the names with panic written all over his face.

“Rank 10, 20… None! 48, 49, 50… None! My name’s not here!” screamed the cat.

“My name’s not here, too…” Jonah turned toward Deuce's defeated voice.

Ace clenched his knuckles. “Dammit it, even though is over 90, I’m not on it?!”

“Guys!” The three of them looked up toward Jonah who ran toward him. “What’s wrong?”

“Our name is not on the announcement!” Grim gripped Jonah’s collar desperately. “This is horrible!”

Jonah looked over the announcement when some of the students walked away. He didn’t recognize any of the names, but what shocked him the most was the scores. “Oh, my stars… How?” He turned toward the other three in shock. “There are like thirty students who get 500 points!”

“Perfect score?!” Grim and Deuce screamed in shock.

Ace’s face turned pale. “I-is it possible for more than 30 students to get full marks?”

“What are we going to do?!” Grim gripped his head. “If we’re not in the top 50, we’ll be violating the contract, yanno…!”

“What?”

Grim froze, quickly covering his mouth when he realized what he just said. He flew backward until back pressed against the frozen Ace and Deuce. Jonah stared at them in confusion. His fingers were twitching, unsure whether he wanted to curled his fist or not.

“What do you mean ‘contract’?” Jonah whispered.

The three of them didn’t answer, but fear was written all over their face. “Guys…” Jonah stepped forward. In turn, they stepped backward. “What do you mean ‘contract’?”

They still wouldn’t talk and Jonah just sounded more frustrated. “Guys-”

He was cut off by a sudden flash of a magic circle over each of the trio’s heads. Suddenly, like a blooming flower, something came out from their head, standing straight like an ahoge.

“Wh-what’s this!?” Ace looked up to his head. “There’s an anemone on my head-!?”

“Is this what happened when we made a contract with that guy?!” Deuce asked, voice trembling in fear.

Grim reached for his anemone. “Something like this is easy to-” When he tried to pull it, it felt like he was pulling his own hair. “Ow, ow… I can’t take it off!”

Jonah was glued in his spot staring at the confused and afraid friends. _What in the Milky Way is going on? There are anemones on their heads?!_

“I knew you’d all be here since it was so noisy.” Jonah turned around to see Epel and Jack walking toward him. “What are you doing?”

Epel frowned at them. “What are those things on your head?” he asked, pointing at the growing anemones.

“Yes. I would like to know as well.” Jonah crossed his arms in front of his chest. His frown deepened. “What did you guys do?”

Grim gulped. “Well… You see, um…”

Suddenly the anemone twisted to the side. “Wha—What’s happening!?” It kept moving, wiggling as if it wanted to go somewhere. “The anemone is pulling me–!?”

Ace tried to stand on his ground, but the anemone kept wiggling. His face scrunched up in pain. “Owowowowowowow! My head’s gonna get ripped!”

“Damn it…!” Deuce gripped his head. His footing flattered. “Is this what he meant by ‘absolute submission’!?”

With one final, painful, pull, the three of them were dragged away, kicking and screaming, to wherever the anemone. Jonah, Jack, and Epel watched them in confusion. That was when they noticed that those three weren’t the ones who grew a demanding anemone on their head. Many students, those who failed to have their name on the top 50 ranks were dragged away from the scene, screaming along the way.

“What’s going on?” Epel spoke their overall confusion. “Those guys just started following where the anemones lead them.”

Jack sighed. “They must’ve done something idiotic if they got themselves in this weird situation.”

Jonah looked down at his shoes. “Contract…” He mumbled softly. But Jack’s sensitive ears managed to catch that.

“What contract?” the wolf-boy asked.

Jonah looked straight toward the direction Ace, Deuce, and Grim were pulled off. “They mentioned something about a contract, but…” He clenched his trembling fist. “They can’t mean him…”

Epel walked up toward Jonah, gently putting a hand on the boy’s trembling shoulder. “You know who’s behind this?”

Jonah bit his lips. “I… I have my guesses…” He took a deep breath. _He needed to fix this._ Without any warning, Jonah ran away.

“Jonah!” Epel’s voice didn’t reach him. He had only one thing in his mind. Pushing through the crowd and the sea of anemones, Jonah kept running. There was only one thought in this mind.

_He needed to go to the Octavinelle Dorm._

_For once in his life, he wishes that he’s wrong._

* * *

“Where is he going?” Epel asked worriedly. “We need to follow him.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. “Huh? Why us? I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

Epel turned toward him. “What? Are you scared?” he smirked. “Oh, dear. It seems like the big bad wolf Jack Howl turned out to be a little scared puppy~”

Jack’s cheeks turned red in embarrassment. “You and your damn mouth.” He rubbed behind his neck. “Fine. I’ll go with you if it’s only for a while. I’m just curious about the cause of all this ruckus. I-I’m not concerned about them at all, got it? Don’t get me wrong, alright?”

Epel just kept smiling. “Sure, Jack. Sure~”

The two of them ran, following the students with anemones on their heads. They came from different directions of the school. All of them led to one place: the Hall of Mirrors.

“I definitely thought I’d make it to the top 50…!”

“Damn it, we were tricked by that lying octopus bastard!”

“Goodbye to my glorious student life!”

“What’s going on?” Jack wondered out loud, looking at the crowd of people. “There are so many students, even second and third years too, with anemones on their heads! I thought it was only those three idiots.” When he looked around again, he spotted the familiar redhead suddenly jumped through the Octavinelle Mirror.

“Did you see him?” Epel asked, silently cursing because of his short body.

“Yes!” Jack grabbed Epel’s and pulled him toward the mirror. They jumped through it, feeling as if they just jumped into the pool. Their eyes widened when they saw the bubbles and seaweed, but most importantly, the dorm that stood at the bottom of this pool of breathable water.

“Whoa! There’s a dorm underwater!?” Epel yelled in awe, feeling his body slowly floated down.

Jack wagged his tail in excitement. “Night Raven College is amazing!” But, realizing how out of character he was, Jack cleared his throat. “This is temporary, but we’ll be entering the enemy’s territory. You better watch yourself, got it?”

Epel nodded. Both of them landed on the purple platform. Looking around, Epel spotted Jonah running away from the crowd toward the different section of the dorm. “Jack, I saw him!” he shouted pointing toward the direction the captain had runoff. “Come on.”

With only a nod, both of them started chasing the boy, leading to the back of the dorm. They arrived just in time when Jonah opened a small door at the back of a building, didn’t even bother closing it again. Jack and Epel just exchanged a glance, having a mutual agreement to follow.

They entered an empty kitchen. Jonah was laying as low as he could so nobody beyond the kitchen window. Epel walked toward him. “Jonah-”

Jonah turned around in surprise but quickly pressing his index finger to his lips. “Shh!”

Epel stopped, raising both of his hands. He repeated with a softer voice. “Jonah, do you know what happens?”

Jonah bit his lips. He didn’t answer, but only peeking through the window. Epel and Jack followed his example, laying low and observing the situations. There were many students with anemones on top of their heads gathered around the café, looking confused and kept on asking what was going on. Among them, they spotted Ace, Deuce, and Grim standing in the front row of the crowds.

“100… No, I feel like it’s nearing 200…” Jack mumbled.

“And what’s this place?” Epel asked. “It looks like a shop.”

“This is Mostro Lounge,” Jonah answered, looking rather serious. “It’s basically a café, owned by-”

The light suddenly turned off, leaving only a single spotlight in front of the crowd. Emerging from the shadow, a figure stepped into the spotlight, dressed in the Octavinelle Dorm uniform (and from the looks of it, he’s probably the dorm leader), along with two other standing behind him.

“Oh, if it isn’t the unfortunate students who couldn’t make it to the top 50,” the young man spoke, tapping his cane as he put his other hand on his chest and bowed slightly. “Welcome to the Mostro Lounge.” He straightened himself again, looking one by one to the students. “I know that you all are already familiar with me, but let me introduce myself once again. I am Azul Ashengrotto, Octavinelle Dorm’s Prefect as well as Mostro Lounge’s manager. And now…”

The once gentleman smile on his face suddenly turned dark, grinning as if he was an evil mastermind. “Starting today, I will be your master!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy... I'm nervous about this chapter beyond.  
> Be prepare JonAzul shipper, because I'll be bombing this ship.


	82. Rebellious Counter! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You'll be working in Mostro Lounge until you can pay all of the debt, or until you graduate. If both of us graduate before you can pay all your debt, I will still be collecting them. I will still give you your salary, but I'll only pay you half of my regular employee... Also, when you're working for me, you cannot defy any of my orders or protest. I want your complete loyalty. You may be a captain, but I'm the boss here and you're my employee. If you broke the contract, I will fire you and take the Ramshackle Dorm as my payment. Sounds fair?"
> 
> \- Azul Ashengrotto, chapter 40

“Starting today, I will be your master!” The room was filled with gasps and confused murmurs.

“Their what now?” Jack spoke out their confusion. Epel glanced at Jonah. He saw the boy was gripping the counter tightly as if he was trying to crack it.

“You lost a bet against me.” Azul tapped his cane and stretched out his other hand, summoning a golden contract with ‘Ace Trappola’ signed at the bottom. The particular ginger in the front line let out a grunt. “And according to our contract, you all will be working under me as my servants until the day you graduate.”

“HOLD IT!” Ace stepped forward. “This is a straight-up fraud!”

Azul hummed. “Ah, even Ace Trappola is here.” Jack's sharp eyes noticed the way Azul clutched his cane slightly tighter. The Octavinelle Prefect blinked several times before continuing. “That was quite a rude accusation. I believe that I gave you the perfect test notes just like I promised in our contract. If you follow them, you should’ve had no problem scoring over 90.”

Ace huffed. “Yeah, I did score 92 points. But I didn’t know that you’d be giving those notes to all these guys!”

“I second Ace’s argument.” Deuce stepped next to Ace, crossing his arms in front of his chest as Grim perched on to his shoulder. “Even if we received the notes, there’s no way all of us could place in the top 50!”

“If this many people score over 90, then getting 85 is just the same as failing, yanno!” Grim yelled.

Azul shook his head in disappointment. “Are you boys aware of the term 'duty of confidentiality'?” When none of them answered, he continued, “‘I want to easily get a high score’, ‘I don’t want my grades to drop’, ‘I want to spend my time until the test having fun’, and so on. The idiots-” He cleared his throat, holding back a chuckle. “No. Everyone who relied on me had their own reasons for doing so, but who made a contract for whatever reasons and under what conditions are all deeply connected to an individual’s privacy.”

He pushed his glasses, it glinted under the light. “There is no way that I will be talking about someone behind their back, you know? I am a very honest man, after all.” The boss grabbed onto the floating golden parchment, showing it to the three students and the others behind him. “There was a stipulation written on page 127 of our contract under the fine print, correct?” He chuckled. “I am just simply upholding that agreement.”

Grim's face became pale. “Th-then, what will happen to the fire magic that I gave as collateral?”

“He’s right! What about my water magic?”

“Give me back my _unique magic!_ ”

“Oh my, oh my, dear customer. Have you all forgotten the terms of the contract?” Azul sighed. He flipped the paper in his hand and cleared his throat. He started to read, “ _‘In return for the notebook to counter the final exams, you shall entrust an ability you take pride into me. If you managed to be in the top 50, then I will return your ability and give you a notebook for every test until you graduate. However, if you are unable to make it into the top 50, then you will become my absolute obedient servant until you graduate’_.”

Epel gasped. “Is it even possible to take others' abilities?”

Jack growled. “This is intolerable.” Jack was about to stand up, but Jonah suddenly grabbed his arm. Jack was way stronger than Jonah, but the way the smaller boy glared at him, made him crouched down again.

“Both of you get out of here.” Jonah stood up.

“What? We’re not leaving you here,” Epel hissed.

“Then stay put. Don’t come out even when everything goes wrong.” Jonah glanced at him. Shadow from his bangs covered his eyes, making it looked like there was a glint in it. “I don’t need both of you to make this even more difficult.”

Without even waiting for their response, Jonah walked out of the kitchen. Jack noticed the way he curled up his fingers into a fist or how the way he was biting his lower lip, but he kept on walking.

Azul rolled up the contract and it disappeared in a puff of violet smoke. “A lock of your hair was part of the collateral, too, correct?” Azul smiled. “In other words, I’m free to choose whether or not to return your abilities.”

“Is that even legal?!” Ace screamed.

“Then, what if I ask you to do it?”

The room once again filled with gasps as Jonah emerged from the shadow. The boy was furious, but he didn’t know toward whom. _Toward those three idiots for signing a contract they didn’t know the risk? Toward Azul who trapped them in said contract? Or to himself for not always keeping them out of trouble?_

Of course, his presence surprised everyone, but for some reason, Azul was the one who was the most surprised.

* * *

_No no no no no no no no no!_

_Why is he here? He shouldn’t be here!_

“Baby… Seal?” Floyd spoke out their confusion. Jonah stood across from him, looking pissed. No, _FURIOUS_. His fists were clenched on each side, he gritted his teeth, and he was glaring ever so intensely toward him.

“Captain?!” Ace screamed. But Jonah ignored him. His gaze focused on only Azul.

“Jonah…” Azul’s previous confident voice disappeared. “What are you doing here?”

“What? Are you afraid I might catch you red-handed with your fishy business?” Even his voice sounded like he was trying his best to contain his anger. He took quick strides across the room and suddenly grabbed onto Azul's suit. “You better have a good explanation for this, Azul Ashengrotto.”

Floyd was the first one to move. Quickly leaping behind Jonah and pressed his magical pen behind his neck. “Mou, Baby Seal~ You’re not supposed to be here. We are busy today.”

“Oi!” Grim suddenly launched himself to Floyd’s arm, mouth open ready to bite. “Stay away from him!”

Floyd clicked his tongue. “So noisy.” He raised his foot and kicked Grim on the face, sending the cat back. Ace quickly moved to catch Grim while Deuce leaped forward, raising his fist.

“Take this!” Deuce launched his fist, but Jade had moved in front of Floyd, quickly countering Deuce’s fist easily with his hand. Amidst the blunette’s surprise, Jade twisted the hand, quickly moved behind Deuce, and locked his hand behind him at a weird angle, making Deuce screamed in pain.

_*BANG!*_

The kitchen door suddenly slammed opened and a blur of white quickly launched itself toward Jade. The greenette released Deuce and quickly jumped back, right on time before Jack landed. He took out his magical pen and pointed it at the wolf-boy. “Stay boy.” He launched a strong waterjet toward Jack and the wolf-boy couldn’t even take out his magical pen fast enough. He raised both of his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the incoming water, but even his strength couldn’t hold back much longer.

“STOP IT!” Jonah suddenly screamed. “ASHENGROTTO, CALL OFF YOUR TWINS!”

Jade and Floyd glanced toward Azul. The Octavinelle Prefect, who was still surprised at Jonah’s appearance earlier, snapped out from his trance. He gave Jade and Floyd a quick nod, thus the Leech Twins pulled back their magical pen. Jack was kneeling on the ground, soaking wet, while Deuce rubbed his wrist, luckily nothing was snapped. Grim just gained his consciousness from being kicked while Ace could only stare at the captain as Floyd’s hand slithered around the boy’s neck, threatening to squeeze it.

“Satisfied?” The once eyes filled with shock now replaced with a cold glare, but that didn’t waver Jonah’s anger.

“Not until you explain what is the meaning of this,” Jonah growled back.

Azul pulled the tip of his fedora downward. “I have nothing to explain, for you have seen all.” He tapped his cane once again, summoning another contract, but this time, it had the signature of one ‘Jonah Argentum’ on it. “All of these poor unfortunate souls had signed their name under this Golden Contract. As it is an official form, none of you will be able to destroy it. No matter what magic you use, it will be impossible to lay a hand on this contract. The moment those anemones appeared on their heads means that you have no choice but to follow my orders.”

Jonah gripped on Azul’s suit even tighter. “These so-called 'poor unfortunate souls' are my crewmate and I’m not letting anyone take them away from me! Not even you, Ashengrotto!”

“It doesn’t matter, Argentum. Only because they are part of your pesky little friends, that doesn’t mean I will just let them even if you beg for their lives.” Azul raised the contract. “And do I need to remind you of your position?”

Azul heard Jonah’s breath hitched. The prefect had got him cornered. “You have disobeyed my order by coming here, Mister Argentum. As your contract stated, I expect your complete loyalty. No protest, no defying my order.” His lips curled up into a cruel smile. “Your dorm is on the line, right now. Do you really want to lose it?”

Jonah gritted his teeth, holding himself back from punching the taller boy in the face. Azul knew Jonah didn’t have the guts to do it. He wasn’t wearing his dorm uniform, so he didn’t have his sword. But even then, Idia’s prosthetic hand might do the trick, but not with Floyd’s magical pen on his neck. _He was outnumbered. He had no choice but to back out._ Jonah lowered his head and Azul thought he had done it. _He didn’t need to lose-_

Jonah snorted. “You dumb takoyaki.”

_What?_

Azul’s eyes widened when Jonah raised his head, smiling so widely that it scared everyone. “You really think I will just back down like that?” He laughed loudly, tilting his head backward. “HAH! You should know me better! Mess up with my crew and I’ll launch a canon at you! You don’t just mess around with Captain Jonah fucking Argentum!”

Azul was trembling. He lowered his head as he gritted his teeth. _Of course. Of course, this stupid captain would choose those pesky crew. He should’ve known. In the end, everyone would choose anything but himself. They only stayed when they needed him. But once they had other problems or when their problems were solved, they would have no hesitation to leave him. It didn’t change back then, why must it change now?_

“So, this is it then?” Azul said coldly, pushing Jonah away from him. “This is your final answer? Should you back down now, you will be able to keep your dorm.”

Jonah’s smile disappeared, gripping his chest where Azul had pushed him. He kept glaring at Azul. “You know my answer. You won’t stop me from saving their asses once again.”

Azul’s hold of the contract tightened, scrunching the golden paper. “Fine,” he whispered. He raised his head, his glare matched with Jonah as tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. “FINE!”

A magic circle suddenly appeared underneath both of the prefects' feet and around Jonah’s signature on the contract. Jonah gripped his right eye. It was throbbing harshly underneath the eye-patch as Azul pointed his finger at him. “Jonah Argentum, you had broken our contract! From this day onward, you are no longer a worker at Mostro Lounge! You are not allowed to speak to me or anyone associated with Octavinelle and Mostro Lounge, including the twins, your crew, and these anemones! You’re not even allowed to step through the Octavinelle Mirror unless I say so! And you must surrender your precious Ramshackle Dorm to me whether you want it or not! THESE ARE MY FINAL WORDS!”

At the last scream, the magic circle flashed brightly. Jonah clutched his throat feeling as if something was choking him. His whole body felt heavy and he was struggling to breathe. Every time he opened his mouth, bubbles came out from him and he lost even more air in his lung. It felt as if he was underwater.

_Of course. Mostro Lounge, the Octavinelle Dorm, all of them are located underwater. The only way to make him stay away from Azul’s territory is to make him unable to breathe in the enchanted water._

Azul fixed his suit and turned around, his coat fluttering behind him. Despite all those shouting, he couldn’t bear himself to see Jonah struggling to breathe. “Jade, Floyd, take this boy and his wet dog out of my sight immediately.”

“Very well.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Floyd grabbed Jack by the arm but the wolf swatted him away. “Don’t make this difficult,” he growled, pointing his sparking magical pen. Jack growled but he stood up.

Jade walked over to Jonah who fell to his knees, still struggling to breathe. With ease, he helped him up, gripping onto his upper arm roughly, without a sound.

“Mark my word, Azul Ashengrotto,” Jonah said, watching the bubbles came out from his mouth and his vision started to blur. “I will take back my crew if it’s the last thing I do.”

Azul didn’t even turn around. He answered it coldly, “Give it your all, Captain Jonah Argentum. I’m dying to see your comeback.”

With that, everything became black for Jonah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *looking at the damage* Is anyone alive? How much damage did I make?  
> But in all seriousness, I tried to make this as dramatic as possible but I only created a shouting fest. It sounded more dramatic in my head, to be honest.  
> Welp, looks like we had become homeless again. And very early in the Arc too. Let's see how many more changes I can make.
> 
> But, I'm curious. When did you guys start shipping Jonah and Azul?  
> This probably the most suprising thing that happen here. I was not expecting for JonAzul to get popular.


	83. Agreed Upon Place! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment you realized Jonah is no longer calling Azul ‘Senior Azul’ but merely ‘Ashengrotto’, you know something bad happened between them.  
> Meanwhile, Crowley continues to be a useless headmaster.

After Azul shouted the broken contract at Jonah, Epel quickly ran out of the underwater café once he saw the bubbles coming out of Jonah’s mouth. He knew that there was nothing they could do there. They had to fall back. Jack had already disobeyed the order and jumped straight into battle, and while Epel wanted to join in and punch some senior’s faces, he knew it would be useless. _If Jack, the strongest person Epel knew couldn’t defeat them, what differences would it make if he jumped in?_

Luckily he was the first one to jump through the Octavinelle Mirror, quickly hiding behind a pillar so nobody could notice him. He waited for a few seconds before taking a peek again, just when the mirror rippled.

Jack (already dried out) and one of the twins walked out. The twin was still holding his magical pen, still sparking and threatening to strike someone down. Jack was growling, glaring at the older boy, but the tealnette didn’t feel threatened.

The next one to come out was the other twin who was dragging an unconscious Jonah by the arm. Without warning the twin threw Jonah’s limp body to Jack’s arm, which Jack caught him. That seemed did the trick for Jonah suddenly gagged, falling to his knees as he coughed brutally, a lungful of water trickled steadily from his mouth.

“It was nice knowing you, Baby Seal,” one of the twins cheerfully said, but there was a serious tone in between. “But we can’t let you get near Azul again. You’ll end up drowning again if you get near us, even on land.”

As if on cue, when Jonah suck a breath, bubbles came out again from his mouth, and once again his hands flew to his neck and clenched it as if that way the air would stay in. Jack fell to his knees, his hands on Jonah but he clearly didn’t know what to do.

“Savanaclaw’s Jack Howl,” the other twins said and Jack looked up to him, still glaring at the smiling senior. “You are welcome to visit the Lounge as guests next time. We will graciously welcome you.”

He bowed while the other waved his hand. Both of them jumped back through the mirror and once they were gone, Epel came out from his hiding place and immediately knelt beside Jonah. “Jonah, you have to breathe!” he shouted, patting Jonah’s back to force the water out of his lung.

The captain gagged and cough, water flowed out from his mouth. It wasn’t as bad as previously but still, the fact that Jonah somehow was cursed to resemblance drowning even on land was horrifying. Eventually the gaging stopped and Jonah was able to suck in another labored breath. Epel inched closer, rubbing a hand firmly against his friend’s back to help clear his lungs.

Jonah pressed his trembling hand onto his forehead, trying to calm himself down. “I-I’m fine…” he wheezed.

“No you’re not,” Jack growled. “We need to take you to the infirmary. We need to keep you breathing.” Jack was about to touch him, but Jonah slapped his hand away.

“I said I’m fine.” His voice was way steadier now. He tried to get up, only to tumble again, nearly colliding the floor if Jack hadn’t caught him.

“I need…” he coughed. “I need to see the headmaster.”

Jack and Epel exchanged a glance. “No,” said Jack. “We’re taking you to the infirmary.”

“I said-”

“You can talk to the headmaster there,” Epel quickly said. “I’ll call him.”

Jonah was silent for a bit. And then, he let out a sigh. “Fine. Whatever.”

Jack and Epel nodded. The purplenette helped Jonah so he was set on Jack’s back. Jack stood up slowly, arms circling Jonah’s thigh, giving him a piggyback ride. Jonah clutched to Jack’s shoulders, pressing his forehead onto the wolf-boy’s neck. By the time Jack and Epel had started walking, the tiredness had finally caught up to him. He was asleep throughout the whole walk.

* * *

“How many times are you trying to kill yourself? Isn’t losing your hand enough?” Argentum didn’t really answer anything. He just lay down silently. He wasn’t looking at the complaining Shalom, but instead his gaze aimed toward the window.

Felmier was the one who opened the door and Crowley followed in, gaining the attention of Howl and Shalom. The Pomefiore child came to his office saying that he needed to see Argentum in the infirmary, mentioning something about drowning, and Crowley just knew that the boy had gotten himself in trouble again.

“Finally,” Shalom sighed as his necklace stopped glowing. “Crowley, please tell you kid here not to always put himself in danger.”

Crowley walked toward the bed as Argentum tried to sit up with help from Howl. “Mister Argen-”

“Do you know about this?”

The boy looked up toward him with an unusual stare. It wasn’t that determined glint Crowley had seen on rare occasion or his usual happy brightness. _No. He looked destroyed._ He didn’t know whether he was trying to be angry or sad. Sure, there was a burning flame of anger in his eyes, but at the same time, that flame was dim as if it didn’t want to come out, leaving a blank empty stare or sadness.

_He just looks and sounds tired._

“About what?” Crowley tried to ask.

“Ashengrotto and his dirty dealings.”

 _Ah… Something must’ve happened between them._ “Can you at least explain yourself why did I hear you nearly drown? In Octavinelle Dorm nonetheless?”

While Jonah didn’t look up for once, Crowley noticed he averted his gaze to the side. “It’s related.”

The headmaster hummed and glanced toward Howl and Felmier. The purplenette was the first one to answer. “There are many students who made contracts with Senior Azul so that they could get good scores on the final exam and being in the top 50 was the condition. However, there were a lot who made this, so it would be impossible for more than half of them to be in the top 50. Senior Azul knew this and deceived them. Now, they have anemone on their head and have to be his manservant basically.”

“Ah,” Crowley sighed. “It seemed that I couldn’t manage to stop Ashengrotto’s ‘business’ again this year.”

Howl raised an eyebrow at this. “Business? Do you mean that little scam of his? Why don’t you just order him to stop what he’s doing then?”

“That’s…” Crowley cleared his throat. “It is because I am a teacher that I cannot prohibit what he’s doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s related to the test notes that Ashengrotto tempts the students with.” Crowley sat on the edge of the bed, both hands on this cane. He noticed a shift of movement. Glancing to the side, Argentum pulled his knees close, hugging them close to his chest, resting his chin on them. Crowley looked back to Felmier and Howl. “He does not actually do anything as illegal as stealing any of those answers and solutions from the teachers here. He thoroughly researches all of the past exam questions that Night Raven College has given for the past 100 years and makes notes based on them.” The headmaster sighed. “They are basically ‘crib notes’ that he has refined by himself with thorough research.”

“All the exam questions from the past 100 years?!” Felmeir gasped, eyes widened. “That’s… That’s kinda amazing.”

Howl thought for a bit before his ears perked up. “Wait… Is it because it’s not actually cheating that makes it troublesome?”

“Precisely, Howl,” Crowley said, nodding, earning another gasp from the two students. “From a teacher’s standpoint, we cannot exactly prohibit notes that a student has put tremendous amounts of effort in, especially since it’s done under legal means. And since he was ‘simply being kind’ and helping his friends with studying so-”

“So if you ban it, it’s basically like telling the students ‘don’t study’ or ‘don’t ask your friends for help’, isn’t it?” Howl finished. Crowley nodded and the wolf-boy let out a growl. “This is annoying…”

“Exactly.” Crowley turned his head, now focusing solely on the boy on the bed. “So, how is this related to you drowning?”

Argentum bit his inside cheek, already feeling uncomfortable under the headmaster’s eyes. “Everything,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “I made a contract to Ashengrotto back then and now I have to pay for it. I fought against him about the notebook contracts and now I’m banned from everything associated with that takoyaki, including the repaired Ramshackle Dorm.”

“He had taken it from you?”

“Along with my connection with Ace, Deuce, and Grim.” The boy rested his forehead on his knees as if he was trying to make himself into the smallest ball possible. “I can’t enter Octavinelle or even talk to the anemones without feeling like I’m drowning. I’m basically homeless and unable to see people.”

“Maybe you can stay in another dorm?” Howl spoke out. “If you want, you can stay is Savanaclaw.” He averted his eyes, rubbing his back of his neck. “Though, about Senior Leona…”

“But, isn’t that a bit too risky?” Epel frowned. “I saw quite a lot of Savanaclaw students with anemones there. If Jonah stays in your dorm, he would have contact with some people trapped in Azul’s contract there. It’s no difference if he stays in Pomefiore.”

“I need to find a way so I can’t see any of them,” Argentum said, turning his head slightly toward Felmier but never really looking at him. “Maybe a spell? Or a potion?

Felmier hummed, fingers on his chin. “I can ask Vil for that. Hopefully, he will help.”

Crowley nodded and he stood up, still looking at Argentum. “And about your dorming situation, I think I have a solution.” The boy gave him a small nod and a hum. “However, like what I said earlier, I can’t really do anything about Prefect Ashengrotto’s situation.”

“The teachers don’t need to do anything.” This time, Argentum did look to him. Shadow over his eye as it shone a dangerous glint and voice sounded like he was about to murder someone.

“Ashengrotto just made this into a personal level. I’m going to destroy him.”

* * *

“No! Grim! Don’t leave!”

“I don’t want to do this either!” the cat screamed, dragging his leg which was being held by Lou, Soo, and Barret. Ace and Deuce watched the cat and the ghosts didn’t know whether this should be funny or sad. They didn’t know how close the Ramshackle Gang is, but from seeing this, they could say they were pretty close.

“It’s no fun without you or Jonah here!” Lou screamed, fat tears falling from his eyes. “Don’t leave us alone again!”

“Sorry!” Grim pulled his leg again, keeping the tuna cans in his paws from falling. “But, it’s Azul order.”

Ace held back a growl as he opened the nightstand drawer, looking for something to be but in the box. They had already packed the books, all it left were the clothes and other knick-knacks. Rummaging through the drawer, Ace's hand got a grip on something cold. When he pulled the thing, it was actually a golden metal ball with weird futuristic patterns on it. “Grim, what is this?” Ace asked, lifting the ball for Grim to see.

The cat threw the tuna cans into his box and looked up toward Ace. “Oh, Jonah often hold that. I don’t know what it does.”

Ace looked at the ball in his hand, tapping it on a few circular spots of the design. _Nothing happened. So, maybe this was just some decoration. But why put it in the drawer though?_

“Anemones~” They froze entirely when Floyd’s head suddenly popped up at the door. The ghost immediately let go of Grim’s leg and sunk into the floor so that the senior didn’t see them. “Are you done yet?”

“W-We’re working on it,” Deuce squeaked, holding Jonah’s lab coat jacket a bit too tightly in his hand, crumpling the cloth.

“Be quick~ Or should I charge you up~?” Floyd's eyes darkened despite the sharky-smile on his face, lifting his sparking magical pen as a threat.

The three of them squeaked at the same time. “N-No need!” They moved faster (but messier). Floyd smiled at this and left. The three freshmen left out a sigh of relief and the ghosts appeared again.

“What’s with that boy?” Lou hissed. “He’s scary.”

“Did you see his teeth?” Soo whispered, slightly afraid. “I bet he’s a half-shark.”

“I wish I’m as tall as him,” Barret mumbled. Weirdly, Lou and Soo nodded at this.

Staring at the ghosts a bit too long, Grim’s ears perked up and his tail swished. He stood in front of them, paws on his hips. “Okay. You three, I have a job for you.”

“Eh?”

“I want you to keep this place save,” Grim said, pointing at the three of them. “If anyone tries to change, even if it's just to change the sheet, I want you to spook them to death. Can you do that?”

“Will you come back if we do that?” Barret asked.

Grim ears twitched slightly. Ace and Deuce exchanged a glance, not knowing the answer. But Grim gave the ghosts a grin. “We’ll figure this out. Do this for the captain.”

The ghosts' eyes widened and they nodded. They flew up the floor, floating in-line from tallest to shortest, and gave Grim a salute. “Aye, aye!”

* * *

“This is the last box,” Ace said, putting down the last box on the porch. Jonah unsurprisingly didn’t have that much stuff, mostly just his clothes, books, and various things. Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to pack the cooking utensils for it was part of the Ramshackle.

Jack nodded at them as Epel picked up one of the boxes. “Thanks.”

“You need help to carry them?” Ace asked again.

Jack shook his head, easily grabbed three stacked up boxes in his hands. “No need. We cannot risk you guys triggering Azul’s curse.”

“Where is he staying now?” 

“The headmaster is handling it.”

Ace nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. Deuce walked out, carrying one last box filled with Grim’s tuna cans and other necessities.

From the window, Lou, Soo, and Barret watched as Jack and Epel walked away with Jonah’s stuff. They still couldn’t believe it that Jonah and Grim were kicked out from the dorm because of some ridiculous contract. The Ramshackle Dorm suddenly felt too big for the three of them. They were so used to seeing the boy and his cat walking around, watching them cook, or just to have some late-night chats…

_Damn. They missed them already._

_All they can do now was to carry out Grim’s last order._

“Ace, Deuce!” Ace and Deuce looked up, watching Cater ran past the gate, up the hill, and met them on the porch.

“Senior Diamond,” Deuce greeted him.

“Where have you been?” Cater asked, looking between both of the first-years. “Ace. It's your turn to feed the hedgehog, right? Riddle is fuming.”

“Oh, shit!” Ace's eyes widened in shock and fear. He gripped his hair in frustration. “What am I going to do? Riddle will have my head on top of this anemone!”

“Anemone?” That was when Cater noticed the flower-like-things on their head. _That’s strange. They didn’t have those this morning._

“Ah~ Hello, Snapper~” The three freshmen froze while Cater looked up confusedly when all of the sudden the Leech Twins appeared behind them. “Do you mind us borrowing Little Crab and Mackerel here? We still have a lot of jobs to do at Mostro Lounge.”

“Floyd and Jade Leech?” Cater noticed how stiff Ace, Deuce, and Grim had become and his eyes fell to the box in Deuce’s hand. “Why are you taking all the stuff?”

“Unfortunately, Jonah Argentum is no longer the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm,” Jade said in a calm voice, but there was an underlying threatening tone there.

“What? What do you mean?” Cater asked again.

“Aah~ Too many questions!” Floyd whined. The gem on both of the Leech’s twins' magical pens started to glow and the anemones on top of the first-years’ head started to wiggle. “Come along now, anemones! We’re not done today!”

As Jade and Floyd walked away, the anemones of their head were being pulled again. The first-years were screaming in pain, even Deuce had to drop the box, spilling the contents on the grass. Cater jumped back, staring at them with shock.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!” The freshmen legs were shaking, but slowly they started to move, following the Leech twins. Ace suddenly grabbed onto Cater’s jacket and spoke between his gritted teeth. “Help the Captain! Save us!”

With that, Ace joined the others walking away from the empty dorm, leaving Cater standing there in confusion. He looked at the wrinkle on his jacket, then to the spilled box on the grass. One thing came up to his mind.

_Riddle wouldn’t like this at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter took so long. I'm quite busy at the moment.  
> The school I'm currently teaching will have a midterm test, so I'm going to concentrate on that. Also, I'm going to do a lot of packing before I move to a rental house since my house is going to be renovated. Which means, there won't be any double update any times soon.


	84. Although I Bare Fangs to the Dusk! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RIDDLE @ EVERYONE: When will you learn? When will you learn?! THAT YOUR ACTION HAS CONSEQUENCES?!

The sun had set hours ago. The stars were twinkling above the dark blue sky. There weren’t many students still walking around the Hall of Mirrors in the middle of the night. Some came from the main building or the library, or even from other mirrors. One of those mirrors was the Octavinelle Mirror where the last batch of students with anemones on their head stepped out. Between the groups was the familiar ginger, blunette, and raccoon.

Grim ears were dropping low and his fire dimmed a bit. “This is only day one and I’m already so tired of being Azul’s lackey, yanno...” he sighed loudly, landing on Deuce’s shoulder.

Ace twisted his shoulder, groaning. “My muscles are still tired from cleaning the whole dorm and doing those waiter things. I rather clean a hundred window than these...”

“At least you're not on supplies duties,” Deuce grumbled as they walked past the Heartslabyul Mirror. “How did Jonah keep up with this? He worked there, didn't he?”

“But he only cooks!” Grim raised his paws exasperatedly. “He enjoys it there!”

“Enjoyed,” Ace corrected and the other two went silent. _Right. Jonah enjoyed it there. As in... He could no longer do that anymore._

Entering the Heartslabyul Dorm, they were quite surprised that the hallway's lights were off. _What time is it now? Is it already past their ten o’clock curfew?_ The only light source was from the lounge. _Huh, maybe they weren’t that late._

However, when entering the lounge, they instantly regretted it. “Uh oh,” Ace muttered and Deuce and Grim silently gulped.

Riddle was sitting on the couch, still wearing his dorm uniform. His arms crossed in front of his chest and his right leg was crossed over his left one. Trey stood on his right side while Cater on his left, both of them were looking worried either from the poor freshmen or the anger Riddle was holding.

“I figure you guys are the last ones,” Riddle stated, sending a shiver down the three’s spine. The prefect let out a sigh. “Even in this situation, you still managed to break the curfew.”

Ace tried to step forward. “Riddle-”

Riddle raised his hand, shutting Ace up. He pointed to the floor. “Sit down.”

Ace and Deuce silently exchanged a glance before deciding to just do what Riddle asked them. They both stood in front of Riddle before setting themselves down to their knees. Grim jumped off from Deuce’s shoulder, noticing the glare Riddle was giving him. He didn’t dare to step up, just hiding behind the blunette.

Riddle raised his chin. “I want an explanation on what, how, and why in the world you guys got yourself in trouble this time. Did you really think that making deals with Azul was the greatest idea?”

“Well...” Ace tried to say something, but, once again, Riddle cut him off.

“If you guys just come to me, I will help you. You've seen me yourself, have you? Heck, I helped Jonah right in front of your eyes and he didn't even ask me.”

“Well, of course, you'll help the captain.” Ace rolled his eyes as he raised his voice. “He's Jonah!”

Riddle uncrossed his leg, stomping his feet loudly. “Don't talk back unless you have something to add!”

Ace held back a growl, once again ducking his head. Riddle huffed. “So, why did you ask for his help?”

Deuce glanced at Ace. Seeing how he didn’t want to answer the blunette spoke up. “Well... We thought if we ask for his help we can also help Jonah. We didn't know that outsiders can't read the notes.”

Riddle rose one of his eyebrows. “So, it was useless in the end.”

“We got a good score,” Ace muttered, in which Deuce and Grim nodded. “Better than we've ever gotten.”

“At what cost?” Riddle spoke again. “Becoming a slave for the rest of your school life?”

“We didn't know Azul made more deals!” Ace shouted.

“He's a businessman!” Riddle shouted back. “You really think he would miss any opportunities like this?” He sighed, massaging his forehead and muttering under his breath. “Seriously... Didn't you think?” He looked at the three of them again. “And what is this about you guys clearing the Ramshackle Dorm? Did Jonah have something to say about this?”

The prefect noticed the way they tensed up. Grim was clutching onto Deuce jacket, voicing unusually small. “He knew it was coming.”

Riddle frowned at this. “Speak up.”

The cat gulped and stepped forward. His head down and he was tapping his paws together. “Jonah also made a deal,” he said timidly.

“What?”

All of them flinched when they heard the growl at the end of Riddle’s question. Grim stepped back. His flicking tail nearly touched Deuce’s knee, somehow give him a bit of reassurance. “It was way before this!” the cat quickly said. “Azul cleaned the Ramshackle Dorm way back then, so Jonah had to repay him. He's willingly doing this.”

“And the contract?”

“If...” Grim gulped. “If Jonah disobeys him, Azul can take away the dorm and he'll get fired.”

Riddle frowned deepened. “Let me guess, he disobeyed his order when he tried to save you.”

Grim suddenly let out a scream. His paws messing with his head in frustration. “And now we can't see him again! That isn't part of the deal!”

“What?”

Even Riddle’s scream didn’t stop Grim’s panic. In fact, it fueled him. “Jonah can't get near us or Azul or anything related to Octavinelle or else he'll die!”

“WHAT?!” Riddle shot up from his seat. He took out his magical pen, gripping it like he was about to break it. “HOW- WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE?!”

“We didn't do anything with that!” Grim screamed. "Azul just straight-up cursed him!”

It was like a typhoon suddenly blew in the room as a magic circle appeared beneath Riddle’s feet. The magical pen changed into his heart staff. But nobody would never forget the furious look on his face. Teeth gritted, brows furrowed, and looked like he was about to kill someone. _Probably Azul._

Riddle was ready to storm out the place when Trey gripped his arm, pulling his back. “Riddle, calm down.”

Riddle spun around, screaming at Trey’s face. “How am I supposed to calm down?! Jonah is cursed! We need to do something!”

“I know, I know.” Trey gentle, yet firmly at the same time, but both of his hands on Riddle’s shoulder. “But you need to calm down. You can't just straight up go out and challenge Azul.”

“I can-”

“This isn't you, Riddle.” His clutches on his shoulder became harder. “Take a deep breath. Let it out.” Riddle curled up and uncurled his fist, trying to calm himself down as he followed Trey’s breathing tempo. The greenette could feel the anger slowly dimmed down. It was still there, but not like the earlier storm. “Good.” He nodded, earning a small gulp from Riddle. “We'll figure this out. We will.”

Riddle gave a small nod, pressing his left palm to his face as his other hand flicked his staff, changing it back to his pen form. “Three of you, go to bed,” he said without looking at the three terrified first-years. “I'll give you your punishment tomorrow. Don't you dare run away.” The prefect lifted his head a bit. His eyes glowed dangerously at them. “Understand?”

The three of them nodded and answered in unison, “Yes, Prefect.”

Cater finally stepped up. “Come on, you three.” He ushered the three of them to stand up, giving a glance to Trey, silently telling him that he would handle this. Trey gave him a nod in response. As Cater guided the three of them out the lounge, Trey guided Riddle to sit back at the sofa.

“Riddle…” he whispered, reaching for the prefect’s crown and set it down on the table beside him.

“I'm fine,” Riddle muttered. “I'm just...”

“You're worried, we know.” Trey put a hand on Riddle's head, pulling him close as he rested the smaller boy’s head on his shoulder, fingers running down his red hair to calm the boy. “We'll see Jonah first thing in the morning when your mind is clearer, okay? “

Riddle could only sigh. “Okay.”

* * *

There was a knock on the door as Jonah turned around from the window. A familiar man with a bird mask walked into the room. “Headmaster.”

Crowley nodded as a greeting he walked toward the boy as he looked around. Most of the boxes were not unpack yet like Jonah wasn’t in the mood for that. “I hope you are comfortable here,” Crowley stated. “Forgive us if it's too tall for your liking. This is the only empty room in the teacher's tower.”

Jonah shook his head. “It's fine.” He turned back to the open window. “It's like I'm one with the sky though...” He let out a sigh. “If the situation is different, I might enjoy it here.”

The only room available in the academy that’s far away from any students’ reach was in the Teacher Tower. While the Teacher Tower is not as high as the Mirror Chamber, it’s still pretty tall. Jonah’s room is located in the highest room in the tallest tower. Just like in those fairytales. If this was any other situation, Jonah would probably complain that he wasn’t a princess or even enjoy the view below. But knowing his position, once again homeless, he couldn't feel any excitement.

“Is there anything I can help?” Crowley asked again.

Jonah shook his head again, not looking up at Crowley. “I still haven't found an idea yet. I'll let you know.”

The headmaster nodded. “Alright. You are lucky that we're reaching the end of the semester. Most of the classes in the last few weeks are not mandatory. Next week is for the End of the Semester Party, so there's no need for me to write you another permission slip.”

Jonah let out a low chuckle. “Thank you, Headmaster.”

“No.” Crowley put a hand on Jonah’s back, giving him a small pat. “I should thank you and apologize for putting you here.”

“It’s fine.”

Crowley only hummed. He gave Jonah a few pats on the back before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Jonah sighed. His right hand rested on the stoned window sill along with his propped up left elbow. He rested his chin on his left palm as he looked up to the sky. “If only stars can give me answers,” he muttered. “But not today, huh?”

_Weird. He thought being close to the star might give him some sort of reassurance. But it didn’t._

_The night was beautiful at that moment. Too bad he couldn’t enjoy it._

* * *

Jonah didn’t know whether this was a good idea or not. He couldn’t just stay inside his room. He needed to get out. He needed to find a way to somehow get to Octavinelle and free Ace, Deuce, and Grim. _But how?_ He was holding his breath and hiding every time an anemone walked past him. The feeling of water filling up his lung was still horrible and he would probably never stepping into a pool ever again. Jonah peeked behind the pillar. _No anemones insight. Great._ But even so, he hadn’t see Ace, Deuce, or Grim. _Was Azul treating them harshly? Overtime and underpaid? Damn it. He needs to save them quickly before they drop dead from exhaustion-_

“Jonah Argentum!” Jonah jumped up as he turned toward the voice. Riddle was stomping his way toward him, looking very angry.

“Of course,” Jonah muttered. He sighed and raised his hand, giving him a small wave. “Hello. Senior Riddle.”

“Don’t be so casual, Mister Argentum.” Riddle stood in front of the boy, crossing his arms in front of his chest. _Yep. He’s angry._ “What the hell are you thinking? And don’t you dare play stupid!”

Jonah groaned. Not far from them, Trey came running toward them. “Riddle-”

“Well, what do you think am I doing?” Jonah retorted. “I’m saving my crew’s lives!”

Riddle growled. “Stop with your pirate nonsense for one second! You really think you can just go around and throw your life away like that?”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I can’t just sit around and let Ashengrotto do whatever he pleases at them!”

“They need to learn that their actions had consequences!”

The corner of Jonah’s eye twitched in annoyance. “But they are my crew! They are my responsibility!”

“They are also my underclassmen!” Riddle shouted back.

“And what did you do? Lecture them?” Jonah rolled his eye sarcastically, before going back to screaming. “That won’t help them!”

“Well, this is not helping you at all!” Riddle gestured all over the place, trying to make Jonah see his idiotic ways. “Once again, you are risking your life to help others! What if one day you actually lose your life because of your hero-wannabe attitude? Even now! What if Azul’s curse is the one that takes your life? If it’s too late, who are you going to blame? So, just stop being so selfish!”

Jonah stepped back in shock. He clenched his fists beside him. “I’m not being selfish!” He stepped forward pocking Riddle’s chest harshly that even Riddle stepped back. “You and Ashengrotto may be the first one to step into my life, but Grim, Ace, and Deuce stick with me since the beginning. They are important to me!” He gripped his own chest as if he was in pain. “I can’t lose them! I can’t lose any of you! If any of you die, that’s on me!”

“And what if you actually die? That’ll be on me!” Riddle suddenly gripped his upper arms, shaking him. “I can’t lose you too! Do you really think that nobody will get hurt if you leave us like that?! For once in your life, don’t be selfish!”

“I’m not-”

“You cling to them, right? They are the most important thing in your world and you want to keep it that way, right? Tell me! Is that true?!”

Jonah shook his head and Riddle gripped his arms tighter. None of them even realized that both of the boys started to tear up, whether because of frustration, anger, or just plain hurt. None of them understand themselves.

“Shut up! What do you want from me?!”

“You’ll do anything to get them back, isn’t that right? You want to keep those three by your side, right? They are not allowed to leave. Not on your watch.”

“Shut up!”

“You’re being protective toward them! It’ll be your downfall!”

“Like you anger?! Like Senior Leona’s laziness? Like Ashengrotto’s greed? If you just come here to scream at me, then you’re just wasting your time! I’m getting them back even if I have to drown trying!”

This time, Jonah wrestled as hard as he could until he finally got himself out from Riddle’s grip. He started to run away. But Riddle was ready to follow him.

“Jonah Argentum! Get back here! I’m not done with you!”

Jonah let out a scream and turned around. His left hand quickly tapping something on the screen of his prosthetic arm. A futuristic-mechanic-like voice suddenly came out from the arm and his hand pulled back and was replaced with a charging canon. “Stay back, Rosehearts!” he screamed, aiming at Riddle.

_*BOOM!*_

It was as if time slowed down. Both Riddle and Jonah’s eyes widened in the realization of what was happening. Jonah was unable to stop the ball of repulsor ray that was suddenly shot out from his canon and Riddle was frozen on his steps. _He’s going to get hit. He’s going to die-_

Riddle suddenly felt himself being pulled back Trey suddenly emerged in front of him. The senior pulled out his magical pen, quickly unleashing his ice magic to counter Jonah’s plasma ball. Both elements exploded, leaving a trace of white smoke.

Riddle heard the sound of running footsteps, he had already guess whose. “Jonah-”

Trey quickly grabbed Riddle’s arm again. “Let him go.”

“But-”

“Both of you are not in the right mind.” Trey pulled Riddle into a hug and Riddle just clung onto him. “You would just make this worse.”

Trey felt Riddle pressed his face onto his chest as his shoulder trembled, threatening to cry. “I didn’t…” Riddle whispered. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I know you didn’t mean to.” Trey ran his hand through Riddle’s hair. “You are angry and worried. It’s understandable.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Both of you need to calm down first.” Trey guided Riddle in the opposite direction as the smoke disappeared. “Come on.”

Looking back, Jonah was nowhere in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very late update. Some of my assignment is nearly cleared and this chapter was written as a stress reliever.  
> To be honest, I was not expecting this to be very long. In fact, this chapter nearly didn't exist. Bt, eh it happened.  
> I know I'm bombing the JonAzul ship, but I can't help it but put a little scratch on ROnah ship as well.


	85. No, I’m Not That Strong! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah: My first boyfriend kicked me out of his house. And I nearly killed my second boyfriend.  
> Leona: That’s rough buddy.

The Botanical Greenhouse was empty during Saturday. No rowdy students, no science club activities, it was a peaceful place. And it was Leona’s favorite place. The older lion stride along the stone path, enjoying the warm sunlight that swept through the glass above. However, when he reached his usual spot, he found something. _More like someone._

“Pirate Boy?”

The boy had his head down, pressed against his knees which were pulled close to his chest. He flinched when his name was called. Slowly, he lifted his head and Leona could see the puffy eye and wet red cheek. “Oh. Did I take your spot?” the boy mumbled, sounded so tired. “Sorry. I’ll leave.”

Leona quickly stepped forward and put a hand on Jonah’s shoulder, preventing him from getting up. “Were you crying?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jonah averted his gaze. “No.”

“Yeah. You’re not gonna fool me.”

“Wasn’t trying too.”

Leona frowned. With his hand still on Jonah’s shoulder, Leona set himself on the grass. “What happened?”

Jonah bit his lip before he sighed. He once again pressed his forehead on his knees. “I fucked up really bad.”

“Everyone fucked up at one point in life.”

“Even you?”

“I overbloted remember?” Leona rubbed behind his neck, glancing at Jonah’s arm. “Whatever happened to you, it couldn’t possibly be worse.”

“I nearly killed Senior Riddle.” Leona blinked. Jonah scrunched up his forehead, pressing it hand to the palm of his hand as his eye once again teared up. “I just… I didn’t mean to. I… I wasn’t thinking… I just blast him off and…”

“What made you do that?” Because Leona just couldn’t get his head wrapped around the fact this brat can accidentally kill someone.

“I don’t know!” Jonah gripped his hair in frustration. “I was angry and I didn’t think…”

“At whom?”

Jonah blinked in confusion. He finally turned his head toward him. “Huh?”

“Were you angry at the Red Prince?”

“No! I’m not-”

“Then who are you angry at?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, okay?!” Finally slapping Lona’s hand away from his shoulder, Jonah shot up, screaming until his face became red. “Should I be angry at that takoyaki who put us in this situation? Should I be angry at those three idiots for signing the contracts? Should I be angry at Rosehearts for being nosy with my business? Should I be angry at myself for not paying attention to them? I just-Whoa!”

Without announcing anything, Leona suddenly pulled him down, twisting his body so he landed with his back on the ground. “Oi!” Before he could get up again, Leona covered his eyes, pressing down lightly to keep his head on the ground.

“You think too much…” Leona said, not really looking at the boy who tried to rip his hand away from his face. “Close your eye for a moment. Calm yourself. Take a nap if you need to.”

Jonah bit his trembling lip. With a sob, he finally let go of Leona’s hand, letting his hand fall beside him. Leona kept his hand on Jonah’s eyes, making sure that he didn’t try to get up. “You’re right, Senior Leona.” The lion’s ears perked up when he heard the small whisper. “This heart of mine is going to be my downfall.”

Leona turned his head slightly toward the smaller boy. “Didn’t you say you want to take the gamble?”

“Will it be worth it?”

“Who knows?” Leona shrugged, slowly lifting his hand, looking at Jonah’s tired eyes, threatening to close. “That’s just the thrill of the unknown.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

Leona sighed. He caressed the boy’s bangs gently, watching as the boy slowly closed his eyes. “You’ll figure it out.”

It wasn’t long before he heard soft snoring.

* * *

Riddle didn’t know why he was here, pacing back and forth in Jonah’s new room in the teacher’s tower. _Oh, wait. He knows._ Jack said that Jonah wanted to see him, and Riddle just agreed. He didn’t know what he was thinking. _Should he be mad at the boy? What should he say?_ Cater and Trey came with him and he just had to threaten Ace, Deuce, and Grim to not come to him. Epel and Jack were also there, all of them waiting for the owner of the room to come.

The door to the room was finally opened. Much to their surprise, it was Leona who opened it. The lion stepped in first and Riddle had to hold himself back from reaching for his magical pen. Leona leaned onto the wall beside the door, giving away for Jonah to walk in. The boy was just equally a mess like himself. He was rubbing his upper arms, head down like he was embarrassed.

“Jonah,” Riddle breathed out. He didn’t really know why he said that. _It just… What came into his mind when they stood face to face._

“Hey, Senior Riddle.” Jonah was still looking down at the ground, his hand reached behind him to rub his neck. “I…” He gulped. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. And for pushing you away. And for trying to kill you.” He visibly winched. “Basically, I’m sorry for being a brat.”

Riddle turned his gaze elsewhere. “I’m at fault too,” he muttered. “You’re stressed and cursed. I shouldn't have confronted you head-on like that.”

Jonah chuckled. “I guess we’re both wrongs in the end.” He finally looked up, stretching out his left hand. “Truce?”

Riddle sighed, the corner of his lips curled up. He reached for the hand, feeling the warmth. “Truce.”

Trey let out a sigh watching the two of them. He knew that they were still in many troubles, but seeing that at least the two of them on the same ground again felt like a weight had just been lifted from all of them. _They’ll be fine, hopefully._

Leona sighed, but no annoyance or malice behind it. “You never really explain about your situation, Pirate Brat,” he said. “What happened between you and that Octo Punk? Aren’t you two allies?”

Jonah and Riddle let go of their hand as the eye-patch boy stepped back a bit, looking at everyone in the room. “Former allies,” he grumbled. “We broke up.”

“Don’t say that. It sounded like you were dating previously.”

Jonah turned to Leona with a raised eyebrow. “Please, not now,” he muttered, then he continued. “Basically I fought with Ashengrotto about the anemones situations and now I have to find a way to save my crew.”

“I’m not even surprised you have something to do with that,” Leona said. “And the ‘curse’?”

Jonah pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning. “I can’t enter Octavinelle territory or even get close to Ashengrotto, the Leech Twins, or the students with anemones without feeling like I’m drowning.”

“Even on land?”

“Yep.” He sighed. “There must be something we can do to counter the curse.”

“Well, there are various counter curses,” Trey stated. “However this is actually the first time I’ve ever heard about a drowning curse.”

Cater nodded. “Me too. This doesn’t count as the unforgivable curses, but still rather dangerous.”

“What that Octo Punk did was probably something he came up right on the spot,” Leona said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It wasn’t coordinate or even cast with chanting. Curses are usually more effective, last longer, and stronger with chants rather than instant like what this pirate boy has.”

“However, Azul has all the additional magic of all students that signed the contract,” Jack added. “So, even if this curse is considered sloppy, it still binds Jonah quite strong.”

“So, we need an equally strong counter curse,” Trey said.

"That's right." Jonah nodded. 

“Wait,” Riddle spoke up, fingers on his chin. “Senior Malleus might know something.”

Leona’s eye twitched. “What made you say that?”

“The Witch of Thorns is well-known for her powerful curses. Diasomnia is also the dorm filled with experts in cursing. Surely Senior Malleus or Lilia knows something about breaking curses,” Riddle explained.

Jonah hummed. “That might work.” He turned to Epel. “Epel, you think you can ask someone from Diasomnia?”

Riddle blinked in confusion. “I can do it. Sebek and Silver are in the same horseback-riding club.”

“I know,” Jonah said. “The thing is I can’t let you guys help too much.”

“Jonah-”

“No. It’s not what you think.” Riddle closed his mouth, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jonah sighed. “Ashengrotto already knows I have Heartslabyul on my side, and Jack too. Especially you, Senior Riddle. You, Jack, and I have a target on our head. I’m pretty sure Ashengrotto is watching us every move. Plus, I can’t ask for Senior Idia and Ignihyde help without the potential Senior Idia asking about the situation to Ashengrotto."

Jonah started pacing around, fingers on his chin, thinking hard. “It’ll be even more suspicious if Senior Riddle, or any Heartslabyul, be the one to ask Diasomnia for help. Ashengrotto might think that we are trying to gain Diasomnia favor too and we’ll be even more restricted. If we want to counterattack, we need to fool our enemy, making them think that we’re just a small group. Hopefully, Ashengrotto doesn’t know about my relationship with Epel and Senior Leona in detail, since he doesn’t see them with me as much time as me and those three." He turned to Epel, giving him an apologetic look. "No offense, Epel.”

“It's alright.” Epel shook his head. “So, since we assume that Ashengrotto doesn’t know that me and Senior Leona on your side, he might be lenient toward us?”

Jonah nodded. "Correct."

Jack hummed. “I guess it’s understandable if he’ll be watching Riddle and me who are close with Jonah, so he’ll be only giving Epel sideways glances.”

Jonah nodded again as he continued, “Epel and Senior Leona have an advantage for being Heartslabyul outsiders. However, we still need to be a bit careful since Epel is also a fellow first-years and knowing what happened a few weeks ago with Senior Leona.” He turned to Epel and Leona. “I suggest we keep our distance for now so we don’t look suspicious.” Leona and Epel nodded.

“In other words, Epel is your back-up plan. Your team B,” Cater said as clarification. “If you, Jack, and Riddle fall, we still have a chance to fight back with Pomefiore and the rest of Savanaclaw.”

“Right. You sorta solve about your drowning curse,” Leona said. “Now, how about the anemones problem?”

“I do have a plan…” Jonah mumbled. He looked at each one of them who are waiting for his answer. Jonah turned around. He didn’t dare to see their expression. “I’m going to make a deal with Ashengrotto.”

Riddle, of course, was the first one to react. “Jonah-”

“Is there any other choice though?” Jonah said, tone rising. “Ashengrotto contracts are invincible. The only thing to counter a Golden Contract is by using our own Golden Contract.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Leona asked again. Riddle glared at him because _he's agreeing to this?!_ Leona just shrugged at the redhead. “You are still cursed and that octopus has the right to refuse.”

“Then we’ll just make him unable to refuse,” Jonah said. He glanced back toward the group. “Tomorrow is Sunday, right?”

Cater turned on his phone and opened his digital calendar. “Yeah. And it’ll be the first Sunday in December.”

Jonah nodded. “I know a way for him to not refuse our request.” Jonah covered his mouth with his fingers. Unknown to them, a smiled form on the pirate boy’s lips.

“We’ll use his own game against him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I suck at drama. So, the conversation between Leona and Jonah might be a bit awkward. Since Jonah won't be staying in Savanaclaw in this adaptation, I'll let him spend quality time with Leona in another way.  
> We're finally picking up the pace again. The next chapter hopefully will be seeing more canon adaptations.


	86. Temporary Reinforcements! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epel Side: Diasomnia galore with Sebek’s first official interaction and me butchering Lilia’s speech once again.
> 
> Riddle Side: Those my ‘ancient’ readers might remember my first Gaiden fic ‘Poor Unfortunate Soul’. Now try to spot the difference between this scene and that fic.

The cafeteria was not as full as it usually was. Students usually prefer to eat outside the campus with their friends on Sunday. This made Epel’s job easier to find his acquaintances. There was a tall, pale skin, sturdy-looking young boy with spiky green hair and sharp green eyes sitting at one of the cafeteria tables. He was staring seriously at the apple in his hand. He brought his knife closer but hesitate once again.

Epel clenched his fist in his pocket and finally decided to enter the cafeteria. _He needs to do this. Jonah is counting on him._

“Sebek,” he decided to call as he walked toward the table. The grenette looked up.

“Good morning, Epel Felmier,” he greeted with his booming voice.

“What are you doing?” Epel sat in front of him. He noticed the various apple cuts in different shapes and sizes. “You seem busy.”

“I’m making a dragon apple craving for the Young Master,” he claimed proudly, but then he deflated. “But it seemed like I had some trouble.”

Epel hummed. “Well, I can suggest if you used two more table knife as a spacer and guider so you don’t just chop the apple off.”

“You can do that?!” Sebek screamed, staring at his apple cuts as if it just turned green. He nodded enthusiastically. “I see. I see! Thank you, Epel!” He suddenly stood up. “I must retrieve some knives right now. Excuse me!”

“Wait!” Epel immediately grabbed onto the greenette’s sleeve. “I-I need something else.”

“What is it?” Sebek sat down again. Epel glanced around, making sure no one from Octavinelle or the anemones were there. Sebek stared at him confusedly. Epel let go of Sebek's hand and took out his handy Swiss-army knife.

“Here.” Epel picked up one of the apples. “I’ll help you craft as we talk.”

Sebek frowned. “I’m not interested in doing dirty dealing. It will taint the Young Master name!”

Epel quickly shook his head. “N-No. This is not a shady business!” Wincing from his sudden raised voice, Epel cleared his throat again. “My friends are in trouble and I need someone’s help.”

Sebek relaxed for a moment. “What kind of trouble?”

Epel picked up an apple and started cutting some small pieces. “Well, it’s kind of a secret.” He kept his head down, trying to be as casual as possible. “But I really need someone who is an expert in curses.”

Sebek perked up at this. “Young Master is a master in curses.”

“Is that so?”

Sebek puffed out his chest and his eyes twinkled with pride. “Of course! The Young Master is the grandson of the Witch of Thorn herself!” he said. “He knows every curse ever existed in the world!”

“Can he conjure them?”

Sebek leaned forward, eyes squinting. “Are you underestimating the Young Master’s power?”

“N-No. Not at all.” Epel leaned back, gulping for the sudden lack of personal space. “I-I was just wondering… Maybe ‘Young Master’ can help with this.”

Sebek hummed, still looking at Epel suspiciously but decided to back down. Epel sighed and continued. “My friend here is under a really bad curse and we’re hoping someone from Diasomnia can help him break it. Maybe your Young Master or any other…”

Sebek hummed again, tapping his chin as he thought. “I have no doubt that Young Master can break curses. Master Lilia can do it as well. How long does this curse last?”

Epel shrugged. “We don’t know. It’s pretty cryptic. But we need this to be broken as soon as possible.”

Sebek nodded. “I see. I see.” He gave one more firm nod. “Alright. I’ll consult this to the Young Master and Master Lilia.”

Epel smiled at him. “Thank you so much. Please, if you do find them, we are waiting at the tallest room in the Teacher Rower. We’re counting on you.”

He could’ve sworn there was a light blush of embarrassment on Sebek’s cheeks. He grinned widely and nodded firmly again. “You can count on me, Epel!”

* * *

“Forgive me if I’m not the one thou are waiting for,” the short boy with fangs said when the door to Jonah’s room was opened by Epel. “But it appears that we couldn’t find Malleus anon enough so I came ‘i his place.”

Jonah, once he was sure it was none of the Octavinelle Squad or the trio, turned around from the window. He nodded at the senior. “It’s fine, Senior Vanrouge. Any Diasomnia member is fine really.”

Lilia nodded back as he stepped in with Epel closing the door behind him. He smiled a bit, knowing that he did a good job convincing Sebek to agree to help them and grateful that Sebek did his part. He should make him that poison apple craving once this is all done, maybe even gave him small tutoring.

“Hmm…” Lilia leaned forward and grabbed Jonah’s chin, staring straight into his eye as if he was searching for something. Lilia squinted his magenta eyes. “How interesting… Whom cast this?”

“Ashengrotto,” Jonah mumbled.

“The Octavinelle Prefect?” Lilia frowned to which Jonah nodded. “How strange. Knowing him, he wouldn’t doth something as reckless as casting an unfinished beshrew.”

“Unfinished? Senior Leona only mentioned that it was sloppy. And it was cast in an instant.”

“Which is why 'twere unfinished.” Lilia let go of Jonah’s chin and stepped back. “Beshrew, and to an extend, cures, while seems to be the most basic thing, are quite complex 'i one way. I’m sure you’ve known about the Witch of Thorn’s Sleeping Curse?”

Epel and Jonah exchanged a glance before turning back to Lilia and nodded. “That’s an example of a firm-set completed beshrew. Thou find the beshrew mere if when the caster and the beshrew can stand on their own without depending on each other. E'en the caster can’t lift the beshrew once 'twere cast and locked with a chant. For example, the Sleeping Curse. E'en after the Witch of Thorn’s demise, the beshrew is still on-going. And yet, an incomplete beshrew, like Little Star hither, is most dependent towards the well-being of the caster, the Octavinelle Prefect. If for any reason something happens to the prefect, like being sick or dead, the beshrew shall be weakened or e'en broken. ”

“Are you saying that to break my curse I have to kill Ashengrotto?” Jonah whispered.

“It’s either that or he lift it by himself,” Lilia hummed. Epel turned to Jonah who looked down at his shoes. _There’s no way he would kill Azul, right? This fight might be their worse one, but… Killing is not their last resort, right?_

The purplenette turned back to Lilia. “Is there any other way to alter it? Didn’t the Good Fairies alter the Sleeping Curse so it wouldn’t kill Sleeping Beauty?”

Lilia hummed, tapping his chin. “We could.” Jonah lifted his head in surprise. “However, like the unfinished beshrew, the counter beshrew had been unstable and temporary, e'en with the strongest one.”

Jonah nodded. “Please. Anything is appreciated.”

Lilia nodded, taking out his magical pen. “May I asked what the beshrew is? Sebek ne’r explain it.”

“You know about the whole anemone situation?”

“Yes. It appears some of Diasomnia students also hath those strange plants on their pate.”

Epel nearly gasped. _Azul even has some effects on Diasomnia too? Just how convincing is he?_

“Basically, if I see any anemones or even go through the Octavinelle mirror, it feels like I’m drowning.”

“I see…” Lilia sighed. “At least thou didn’t turn into sea foam.” Lilia tapped the gem on his pen. “Alright. Close thy eyes.”

Jonah nodded and slipped his eye shut. Epel stepped back as a magic circle appeared beneath Lilia and Jonah. The senior was chanting a complex verse that was unfamiliar for Epel as green smoke started to appear from Jonah’s circle. The smoke circled upward around the captain until it reached on top of his agohe. It became thicker, engulfing Jonah’s whole body. Lila was making some movement with his pen, glyph appeared in front of him as he chanted. With one final stroke, the smoke around Jonah disappeared. He looked fine actually, nothing change. When he opened his eyes though, instead of the usual black eye, his iris was now green, similar to Lilia’s magic spell, and somewhat glossed over, like he was blind.

“That should'st doth it,” Lilia said as the magic circle beneath the two of them disappeared. “Now. This counter beshrew can only work 'twixt sunrise and sunset. It’ll help thou able to breathe again whe'r thou are around Octavinelle’s territory or thy curser. And yet, I might not but warn thou, this doesn’t mean thou are free to run around thy foe territory. You’re unable to see the anemones or any association to the Azul Ashengrotto, like those twins, yet they until and can attack thou.”

Jonah frowned. “So, I can only see and attack Ashengrotto?”

Lilia nodded. “Indeed. Alas, I can’t doth much, knowing that I can’t break an incomplete beshrew without killing the caster.”

Jonah nodded as he walked back and sat on his window. “Understandable. Thank you for your help, Senior Vanrouge.”

Lilia was silent for a while before walking up to Jonah. The boy didn’t look up as if he was deep in thought. Lilia lifted his hand but paused before he could even touch the ahoge. Curling up his fingers he let his hand fell to his side. “I may not wot what thou are experiencing right now, Little Star.” At that nickname, Jonah finally looked up. For once, Lilia looked very serious, unlike his usual mischievous façade. “But I might not but warn thou not to dip thy feet into the dangerous water 'lest thou wot what thou are doing.”

Jonah bit his lip before sighing. “My friends are trapped in that dangerous water. There is no way I can just leave them there.”

Lilia sighed through his nose. “I can only hope the meetest of luck for thou.”

Jonah nodded. “Thank you, Senior Vanrouge.”

He glanced at the orange sky behind him. The sun was setting. _It’s time for phase two._

* * *

“Are you sure you’re going to be fine?” Trey asked as he watched Riddle fixed his crown. “You know I can go instead of you.”

“Cater is probably already in his position, I can’t turn my back to the plan.” Riddle looked at himself one more time at his reflection on the mirror, nodding to himself when he looks perfect. He turned around and looked at Trey. “Can you do me a favor?”

The Vice Prefect nodded. “Anything.”

“Can you make sure Jonah doesn’t leave his room?” Riddle said. Trey noticed the way the redhead gripped his cape a bit too tight. “I don’t know if this plan will work or not, but until sunrise or until Cater call, you just can’t let him interfere.”

Trey nodded. “Alright.” He walked toward Riddle and put a hand on his shoulder, bending his knees a bit so they can see eye-to-eye at an equal level. “While I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, but please be careful.”

Riddle nodded. “I will. I promise.”

Trey nodded, giving Riddle one last pat on the shoulder before opening the door for him. Riddle didn’t even look back. He looked so focus and determined as he stepped out of the dorm and through the Heartslabyul Mirror. Looking up, he saw Jack, also in his Savanaclaw Dorm Uniform, leaning against the pillar near the Octavinelle Mirror.

"Evening, Jack," Riddle greeted at the wolf-boy.

"Good evening, Riddle," he said as he nodded. "Are you ready? We're in our enemies' territory, so we can’t let our guard down."

"Understandable," Riddle answered with a nod. Stepping into the mirror, Riddle felt like he was falling into the water and bubbles tickled his face. Unconsciously, he let out a sigh, reminding himself that this is breathable water. He and Jack landed on the platform with ease. Entering the Octavinelle Dorm, they followed the crowd to the café. Mostro Lounge was not as crowded as when Jack, Epel, and Jonah was there, but it was still filled with people, all dressed in their best clothes.

"Oh, it's Goldfish~” Riddle winched. Glancing to the side, he saw Floyd walking toward him and Jack with the usual smile on his face. “Welcome! I see the Sea Urchin is with you, too~"

"I said I'm not a sea urchin!" Jack was snarling behind Riddle, but Floyd didn’t seem to be scared. Jade, who once stood at the entrance podium, walked toward him.

"Welcome to Mostro Lounge,” he said with a hand on his chest and bowed slightly to them. “How may we serve you?"

Riddle nodded. From his pocket, he took out a piece of paper. "I have made a reservation for tonight's event. Did you write that down?"

"Ah, yes." Jade took that paper and Floyd peeked from over Jade’s shoulder. It was a receipt, an order to be exact, under Riddle’s name. "Table for two for Riddle Rosehearts. Yes, you are on the list, dearest customers." Jade walked toward the podium again as the other three followed him.

"I'm quite surprised that he's your partner though," he said, putting the receipt in the podium drawer.

"Are you expecting someone else?" Riddle asked with a raised eyebrow. He was trying to be cool, but he inwardly flinched at the way Jade closed the drawer with a bit of force.

"I'm actually quite surprised you know about this event." Riddle noticed the way Jade’s eye twitched in annoyance. The eel then cleared his throat, calming himself down. "Since this is your first time visiting, I shall explain some precautions and disclaimers before we proceed with our business today.”

He stepped aside from the podium and gestured to the whole café area. “Mostro Lounge is a gentleman’s social facility. Please refrain from having arguments with people from other dorms. Here, everyone from the other dorms shall adhere to Octavinelle’s rules. Please remember these rules and enjoy the Lounge to your heart’s content. Now then, shall we take you to your table?” He turned slightly and clapped his hand.

It was then Riddle noticed Ace and Deuce. It was weird to see them in other’s Dorm Uniform beside Heartslabyul. The two students' eyes widened when they noticed their prefect.

“Prefect Rosehearts?” Deuce exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

Jade tut-ted the blunette. “Is that how you treat the customers? Anemones, please escort our special guests."

Ace clicked his tongue in annoyance, balancing the glasses on a tray on each hand. “We’re kinda busy here. Can’t you do it on your own?”

Jade frowned slightly. "You sure have quite a rude disposition for someone in your current situation." He reached for his magical pen in his breast pocket and squeezed the violet crystal.

All of a sudden, both Ace and Deuce started screaming. Deuce dropped the menus, his hand immediately reached for his head. "Owowowowow!"

"Stop pulling the anemones!" Ace cried, stopping his track before he could spill the drinks.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Riddle shouted.

"Azul left me in charge of training the newcomers,” Jade said without even glancing at Riddle. Floyd rested his elbow on his brother’s shoulder, giggling at the anemones in pain. “Newcomers who do not follow my rules shall be punished.”

"Owowowow!” At this point, even someone as tough as Deuce had fallen to the ground. “I get it, I get it already!"

"Hey! Drop that pen, right now!" Riddle stepped forward, flipping his cape making sure the Leech Twins got the sight sparking magical pen. "They may be under Azul's deal, but they are still Heartslabyul students. As their prefect, I can't take this type of abuse."

None of the twins look offended. "Oh, my. This won’t do, dearest customers," Jade hummed as Floyd stepped away. "I believe that I already said you are to follow our rules while in the Lounge."

Before Riddle could even respond, he felt a hand on his neck. "We have all the right to wring the necks of problem children who won’t listen to us~" Floyd giggled right next to Riddle’s ear, fingers drumming on the skin of his neck, threatening to squeeze him-

The hand was immediately gone and Riddle let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Looking back, he was Jack pulled Floyd away from him. “Stay away from him!” Jack growl between his gritted teeth. "Watching you guys picking on newbies leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Floyd, completely unafraid, tilted his head to the side. "Then why don't you help out in the shop in their place?"

There was silence between them. Ace and Deuce were looking at them, almost pleadingly. Jack looked between the Heartslabyul students on the ground and to the Leech Twins with their sadistic smiles. He had seen their strength even if it was just a glimpse, both in physical and magic. Even if he and Riddle combined strength, with all these people, they might cause more trouble than they already had.

"Jack, you don't have to do this," Riddle whispered, shaking his head. “This is not part of the plan.”

"It's probably the only way for us to stay in this place?" Jack whispered back. "I'll be fine, it'll be just a small work. You carry out the plan."

Riddle bit inside his cheek, weighing his options. In the end, he nodded and pulled his hand away from his magical pen. He could hear Jade hummed in satisfaction, along with Floyd giggle. Jack stepped forward. "Fine. I'll help them."

"Yay~!" Floyd took out his magical pen and pointed at Jack. Before any of them could react, he shouted, " ** _[Multicorfors]_**!" A magic circle appeared underneath the wolf-boy's shoes, slowly ascending to their upper body and disappeared when it passed their heads, changeling his Savanaclaw Dorm Uniform into Octavinelle’s. "Alright, Sea Urchin! Take the order for table number 3~" Floyd ran behind Jack and pushed him away from Riddle and Jade. Floyd just gave Ace and Deuce one dangerous glance, signaling them to get back to work. The two Heartslabyul students could only squeak. Sending an apologetic look to their prefect, they resumed their job.

Riddle glance at Jade. "Are you satisfied?"

Jade smiled at him. "I'm glad we've reached a compromise. I'll show you your table."

Riddle sighed through his nose and followed the taller student. He was led to an empty table in front of the stage. Jade pulled the chair slightly, giving space for Riddle. The Heartslabyul Prefect stepped in and sat down once Jade pushed his chair again. The taller boy bowed again. "Please, enjoy the show."

Riddle gave him a small nod just for formalities. As much as he hated his position, he had to admit Jade would make a perfect butler. Looking straight onto the stage, he watched Jade stepped up, standing behind the mic. He tapped it several times, gaining everyone’s attention there. "Gentlemen," he said. "Welcome to our Sunday Supreme. Without further delay, may I present to you..."

_"What do you mean you'll 'use his own game against him'?" Riddle remembered asking Jonah that yesterday._

_"Remember back when I challenged Senior Leona to a magishift rematch and I basically forced Floyd to teach Ace?" The Heartslabyul students nodded, while Epel, Leona, and Jack just paid attention._

_Jonah nodded before start explaining, "There's an event in Mostro Lounge called the 'Sunday Supreme'. It happens on the first Sunday of each month. Basically, it's an after-sunset party for only 100 people who made a reservation. In that Sunday Supreme, a member of the staff will perform and choose one lucky person to join in their acts. That lucky person will receive a thing called 'Golden Ticket' which can be used to grant any wishes without a contract. If one of us can get the performance's attention, we can get the Golden Ticket. But..."_

_He frowned, fingers on his chin. "What's wrong?” Riddle asked again._

_Jonah looked up to him. "If I'm not mistaken, the one who will be performing is..."_

"Azul Ashengrotto."

The room was filled with applause as the red curtain behind Jade was lifted once he stepped off the stage. The Octavinelle Prefect stepped forward the mic as the piano started to play. Riddle could’ve sworn Azul was looking directly at him and his lips curled up.

_“We need to make sure Azul picks you and give you the Golden Ticket,” Jonah said. “This is a gamble. But I’m willing to take the risk.”_

_Right. May lady luck be on their side…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does one write Sebek? He feels like Gokudera Hayato or Kiyotaka Ishimaru dammit. He’s just waiting to be praised and I don’t know if that’s in character or not. I need more research. 
> 
> Also, once again, how do you write Lilia? I used Modern English to Old English translator. Might do this again for consistency in the previous chapters when I finally start editing.
> 
> And didn’t tell you to remember Chapter 40? Very important info in that chapter will be used again in tis and the next chapter.
> 
> Also, re-reading ‘Poor Unfortunate Soul’. Man that was when this was still at 100 kudos. And look how the dynamic had changed…
> 
> Pomefiore arc premiered and Tumbr blew up. Meanwhile I just finished Savanaclaw Story… Anyway the Pomefiore update made want to update my own fic, so here you go. Sorry if this is a bit disappointing. I’m still busy with my internship and college.
> 
> Next chapter might be a songfic, so it would take longer to write. Sorry.


	87. Why Don't You Do Right, Like Some Other Men Do? (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember that time I wrote a musical chapter?  
> Let’s do that again.  
> But with Azul.

Riddle didn't know what to expect when Jonah mentioned an after-sunset party. He had prepared for the worst like bodies of drunken students scattered on the floor. He certainly didn't expect this. Azul wasn't in his Octavinelle Dorm Uniform. Instead, he was dressed in a black trench coat and pinstripe trousers, also wearing a red scarf and a hooded, gray and white flower-print mantle, and a black fedora. It felt as if they were in a bar in those old gangster movies that Che'nya often shown during their secret sleepover. Azul held the vintage jazz microphone as the light dimmed around them, leaving only a single spotlight above Azul.

**I had plenty money 1922**

**You let other rich men make a fool of you**

**Why don't you do right**

**Like some other men do?**

Riddle had heard Azul sing before, but he had never thought that the Octavinelle Prefect's voice could be this smooth. Azul opened his eyes, lips curled up into a smirk. Leaving the mic, but his voice still sounded as loud as it previously was, he walked around the stage in such an alluring way.

**Get out of here**

**Get me some money too**

Walking down the stage, Riddle clenched his fist under the table. Jonah never mentioned when the performance would pick their lucky partner. And knowing Azul, he would definitely play around just to tick Riddle off. And that was true. Azul walked past his table, giving Riddle a small wink which Riddle responded with a glare.

**You're sittin' down wonderin' what it's all about**

**You ain't got no money, they will put you out**

A small _*click*_ was heard on top of his table. Looking up he saw Jack put a cup of tea in front of him. Purposely leaning down, he whispered, "How are you going to make him choose you?"

Riddle picked up the cup and sipped the drink, trying to look casual. "I don't know," he whispered back. "I don't know what he's trying to do."

Jack nodded. He walked away, keeping his eyes close to Azul who sat cross-legged on one of the Scarabia customers' tables.

**Why don't you do right**

**Like some other men do?**

Azul purposely tucked a strand of the boy's hair behind his ear. His finger traced the boy's cheek and down his chin. Even when Azul pulled his finger away, the boy's head still tried to follow him, completely love-struck.

**Get out of here**

**Get me some money too**

Azul started to walk around again, purposely walking further away from Riddle. He reached a table with a Pomefiore student, giving him a slight bow and he offered a hand. The boy, cheeks flushed, put his hand on top of Azul. The singer smiled, giving the boy a small kiss on the back of his hand.

**If you had prepared 20 years ago**

**You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door**

Azul walked closer toward him and he took off his fedora. Riddle's eyes widened. _Don’t tell him…_

**Why don't you do right**

**Like some other men do?**

Azul put his fedora on top of the Pomefiore’s head, pulling it down until it covered his eyes, earning a squeak of surprise from the boy. Riddle tore his eyes away from the scene. It was no doubt Azul had chosen the lucky customer. The prefect gripped on his pants hard, biting his lip in anger. _They had failed. They couldn’t do anything without causing a scene. Jonah would be disappointed-_

**Get out of here**

**Get me some money too**

Riddle’s head shot up when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder. His body immediately tense when he heard Azul chuckled behind him. Even as the Octavinelle Prefect continued to sing, his hand never left’s Riddle’s body. Azul sat on his table, his hand traveled to his face until it reached his chin, pulling it slightly so their face got closer.

**Why don't you do right**

The hand traveled again until it reached the back of his head. Azul leaned forward, his lips near Riddle’s ear, and lowered his voice. “Looks like you had a terrible night, dear Crimson Tyrant,” he whispered. Riddle’s brow furrowed. “You really think you can just walk in here and hoping I’ll choose you?” Azul chuckled. “Tell your captain to play better.”

“This isn’t over,” Riddle whispered back.

“I hope it isn’t.” He smirked. “I’ll be waiting for his next move.” Azul leaned back and pulled away. Even then, Riddle could still felt the lingering feeling of the hand behind his head. Azul sang his last line louder.

**Like some other men do?**

As he stood up from Riddle's table, the music reached its climax. Azul stepped back onto the stage and the spotlight snapped out. The room was filled with applause and whistles but Riddle didn’t care. He stared at the unfinished tea on his table. He put a hand on his forehead as he scrunched his eyes hard.

Ace, Deuce, and Jack had witnessed it all, but Jack in particular felt angry. _Azul had foiled their plan. They’ve lost the gamble._ He watched as the Leech Twins approached the Pomefiore student with Azul’s had, probably chatting about the aftermath.

_What are they supposed to do now?_

* * *

A knock came on Azul door. Looking up he saw the familiar Pomefiore student with his fedora still on his hat. “Excuse me,” he said. “The twins said that I have to return this.”

Azul smiled at him. “Of course.” He stood up from his seat and hold onto a shiny golden paper. “Please sit down for a second. There’s something I must talk about.”

The student entered the room closing the door behind him. Azul gestured his guest to take a seat on one of the couch and set himself across him. “Oh!” He took off the fedora. “Here’s your hat.”

Azul chuckled. “Yes. Thank you.” He wore the hat and look straight at the student. “First thing. Is this your first time joining our Sunday Supreme?”

The boy nodded. “Yes. My friend mentioned that there’s a cool event in Octavinelle so I just have to know.”

Azul chuckled. “I see. Well, I assumed you enjoy tonight's show?”

The boy nodded again, more excitedly. “Yes! You are a great singer!”

“Why, thank you. Now, during our Sunday Supreme, we would choose one lucky person to win a prize.” He put the golden paper on the table and slid it in front of the boy. “This is a Golden Ticket. With this, I can grant you one wish, anything you desire without signing any contract. On top of that, I cannot refuse your request no matter how ridiculous your wish is.”

The boy picked up the ticket with awe. “Anything I desire? Really?”

“Of course. But choose wisely, for you can only use this once.”

“Don’t worry,” the boy giggled. “I know what I want to wish for.”

Azul blinked in surprise. “Really now?”

“It’s really simple.” The boy leaned back, making himself more comfortable. “I want you to strike a deal with my friend. He’s the one who really needs help. You can talk to him in detail soon.”

Azul hummed as he tapped his chin. “How interesting. This is the first time I’ve gotten a wish like that. Who is this friend of yours?”

“Jonah Argentum.”

The temperature of the room suddenly dropped as Azul looked up to the boy, who is now smirking at him. _Did he just say that name?_ “What?”

The boy shrugged, looking way more relaxed and not even afraid of the growing anger inside of Azul. “You said yourself that you can’t refuse my wish, right? I want you to make a contract with Jonah.”

The Octavinelle Prefect growled. “Who are you really?”

“A friend.” The ‘Pomefiore boy’ took out his magical pen and Azul’s eyes widened when he saw that the gem was red instead of indigo. “And an ally.” The boy waved his pen, as suddenly the Pomefiore Dorm Uniform burst into pixie-dust light. The boy was now wearing the signature Heartslabyul Uniform with the four-of-diamond on his blazer.

“Cater Diamond.” If Azul’s glare could kill, Cater would be dead by now. “How?”

“Well, we already know that if we send Riddle here you won’t pick him,” Cater explained, twirling his pen between his fingers but this kept his eyes on Azul. “So, I just used my _unique magic_ and disguise myself and my clones as some random students.”

“Is everyone on my guest list your clone?”

“Nope. Just five of them.” The senior grinned. “We are very lucky that you picked me~ Not even Riddle know!”

“Not even-! Using luck against me…” Azul growled, looking ready to kill. _How dare the captain fooled him. Even with all his disadvantages, he still kept coming back. Just- How stubborn is he?!_

Cater hummed. “Well?” He slid the Golden Ticket back to Azul.

The prefect glared at the paper. _Using a gift, forcing him to obey. How annoying._ With a sigh, he picked up the ticket. “Fine.” He ripped the ticket and it suddenly glowed. A Golden Contract appeared in place of the ripped paper. “I am a man of my word. I’ll make a deal with your captain.”

Taking the floating Golden Contract he glared at the name underneath the signature line. If it was someone else, Azul would be thrilled of having one more poor unfortunate soul underneath his mercy. But this was Jonah fucking Argentum they were talking about.

_He’ll make sure that the betrayer regrets his decision._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never written something so alluring before. I’m listening to various covers of ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’ and hot dang these people can sing~  
> I’m actually quite surprised that the songfic isn’t as long as I thought it would be, so I need to combine it with the next scene. And the tone is way lighter than I thought.  
> Next chapter we’ll be seeing the contract and the biggest reason why I wrote this fic in the first place… (the full story will be posted on my Tumblr once the next chapter is finished)


	88. Suitable Collateral! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know, man… Jonah is kinda sus.

Just like how he promised, Trey stayed in Jonah's room. There wasn't anything they could do besides waiting for the team to come back. Trey leaned against the wall beside the window, looking to the side at the other boy who was sitting on the window sill, looking worriedly at the direction to the Hall of Mirror.

"They'll be fine," Trey said, making Jonah glanced at him with a slight surprise. "We're basically repeating Riddle's plan back during the magishift, right?"

He hummed, the back of his head pressing the stone behind him. "I'm basically betting this on RNG," he muttered. "He won't be happy. I know Cater is good back then, but he's going in so close right now."

"Cater is a great actor. He wouldn't let his disguise slip. Even I sometimes have trouble figuring out his mask." Jonah turned toward, eyebrow raised as if he was waiting for a continuation. But Trey sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. _Maybe one day he could finally crack that mask._ "Though, you didn't exactly explain to Riddle that Cater's in disguise."

"It's better if Senior Riddle didn't know," Jonah answered. "If he didn't look panic or disappointed, Azul might be suspicious."

"So, you're lying to make this plan work?"

"I didn't lie technically." Jonah bit his lip and turned his head toward the Hall of Mirrors again. "Just hiding some things."

Trey frowned at this. "You know you'll only keep hiding even bigger if you keep this up."

Jonah glanced at him as his bangs created a shadow around his eye, giving it some sort of dangerous glint. "Is there anything else to hide though?" he asked in a low voice.

Trey didn't back down. His glasses flash dangerously as well. "Maybe start by telling us what are you planning to give up."

Trey noticed Jonah's hand curled up, gripping his pants as his brow slightly furrowed as if he was getting defensive. However, before they could continue even further, there was a knock at the door. Both boys looked at the door but Trey was the one making move to open it. He smiled as a greeting to the rest of the team.

"Yo~ We're back." Cater waved his hand. Hearing the voice, Jonah jumped from the window and walked toward them, smiling at them.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"Yep." Cater winked. "All we need to do is to make the terms of the agreement and we'll be off."

Riddle frowned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "There's one thing though."

"Eh? Really?" Cater looked down at his prefect confusedly. "Did I miss a step?"

Riddle shook his head. "Not you." Riddle turned his head toward Jonah. "I'm talking about the collateral."

Glancing toward Jonah, Trey noticed the way the boy's fingers were rubbing each other anxiously as Riddle continued. "You don't have anything left. I doubt you have anything valuable in your possession."

Jonah sighed as he tucked some hair behind his ear. "I'll... Think about it." He glanced toward Cater again. "Did he mention when should we meet?"

"Tomorrow night," Cater said. "He also said that he'll deliver the 'official invitation' tomorrow."

"So, the counter curse won't work around that time." Jonah tapped his chin. "But maybe it would be better since we're trying to hide it."

"But Azul did mention when he cursed you that you're not allowed to step in Octavinelle unless he says so," Jack said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "If both of you need to make a contract, surely he can lift the curse just a bit."

"That's true too. I guess we have to wait until tomorrow." Jonah hummed as he nodded. "It's pretty late, I kinda want to sleep early."

Riddle stared at Jonah for a bit, frowning as if he was trying to figure out something. In turn, Jonah stared back at him, though Trey noticed the way he kept rubbing his fingers. In the end, Riddle sighed. "Alright."

Jonah sighed through his nose. "But," Riddle quickly added. "You better not try to go on your own."

Jonah smiled at him. "Alright." With that, he closed the door.

Jack and Cater walked ahead, knowing that this was passed the wolf-boy's bedtime. Riddle walked at the back, next to Trey. The Heartslabyul Prefect's steps weren't as confident as when he went out to Octavinelle. His steps right now were slower, unsure even as if he had so many things in his mind.

"Riddle?" Trey pulled Riddle's sleeve, causing them to stop their track. "Is there something wrong?"

Riddle sighed through his nose. "I just... I had a strange feeling."

"Like what?"

"To be honest, don't know." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he scrunched his eyes tiredly. "It's like he's planning to do something stupid again."

Trey hummed. Looking back at the closed door. "Well, figure it out," he looked down at Riddle again and ran his hand on the redhead's head. "We won't let him do anything stupid."

_Because while Trey is forever grateful for Jonah who helps them with Riddle, he really didn't want to think of the possibility of he doesn't trust them..._

* * *

**_"You’ve come here because you’ve fallen in love with a human, haven’t you, sweet princess?"_ **

Jonah found himself under the sea, inside a creepy cavern filled with creatures that were wailing toward the little mermaid who just entered there and found the benevolent sea witch herself.

**_"The only way you can be together with him if you become a human yourself."_ **

**_"Can you do that?"_ **

**_"Sweet child, that's what I do!"_ **

She pulled the little mermaid closer as she opened the giant clam cauldron, already smoking.

**_"I’ll make you a potion that can turn you into a human for three whole days. And the prince absolutely has to fall in love with you. But of course, this doesn't come in free."_ **

**_"But I don't have any-"_ **

**_"I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle. What I want from you is, your voice."_ **

**_"But without my voice, how could I-"_ **

**_"You'll have your looks, your pretty face, and don't underestimate the importance of body language, dear!"_ **

The sea witch pulled the little mermaid closer to her as she rolled out a golden contract and a white feather, suspiciously similar to what Ashengrotto had. Jonah couldn't make out it fully, but he caught some sentences like _[I hereby grant unto Ursula the Witch of the Sea...]_ , _[one voice]_ , and _[for all eternity]_.

**_"Now, sign your name onto this contract! I will save your poor, unfortunate soul!"_ **

Knowing it was now or never, the little mermaid took the feather and signed her name at the bottom of the contract. The contract suddenly rolled up into the grinning sea witch's hand.

**_"Now, sing! Sing your heart out!"_ **

As the little mermaid began to sing, two long ghostly hands reached down her throat and taken her voice in form of a bright golden ball of light. The mermaid grabbed her throat in shock, watching the ball of her voice got sucked into the sea witch shell necklace.

Suddenly, the little mermaid found herself trapped inside a bubble. Magic flashed everywhere as her fins split into two, forming two long sturdy legs. The golden bubble burst and then Jonah suddenly realized that they were underwater. Humans can't breathe underwater and she couldn't swim, and worst of all, they knew the sea witch wasn't going to help her.

But to his great relief, a red crab and a yellow fish with blue stripes swam up to her and pulled her to the surface. As the mermaid broke the surface, Jonah felt as if he just emerged from the water himself.

"The little mermaid signed that..." he muttered. The golden orb closed up in his lap and Jonah put it back on his nightstand. The sunlight swept in his curtainless window, giving more light into the room. Jonah sighed and brought his knees closer to his chest. He pressed his forehead onto them, feeling tired despite still early in the morning.

"I guess there isn't any other way," he muttered.

Suddenly, someone knocked on his door. "Jonah..." A voice called from behind it. Jonah's eyes widened.

"Grim?!" He quickly jumped off his bed and ran toward him.

"Don't open it!" Grim shouted just when Jonah reached for the handle of the door. "You'll die!"

"I'll be fine."

"Don't-"

Opening the door with the brightest smile, he blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

In front of his door, there was a floating envelope with the Octavinelle seal on it. "A floating letter?" he muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Grim?" The hallway was empty. Looking at the left and right, there wasn't any sign of the demon raccoon. "Where are you?"

"I'm right in front of you!"

"Where-"

Jonah reached out, with a bit too much force.

"Ow!"

Jonah's eyes widened. _Grim is invisible?_ "Oh. Sorry."

"How did you not see me?" Unknown to him, Grim was rubbing his nose from where Jonah had smacked him. "I'm right here!"

It took Jonah’s brain to process this revelation a bit longer. His eyes widened in the realization. "Sorry. Side effect."

He heard Grim gasped. "Of the curse?! You're blind now?!"

"No. No." Jonah reached out again when he couldn't feel Grim anymore. It was then when Grim noticed that Jonah's left eye was green instead of black and slightly glossed over. The cat voluntarily pressed his head onto Jonah's palm. Jonah sighed happily.

"I asked for help so I don't have to drown when I'm near you." Jonah rubbed the top of Grim's head and heard the cat purred. "But, I can't see you now."

Grim's ears fell. "Will you... Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Jonah smiled reassuringly. "What are you doing here?"

"This letter is for you from Azul." The letter floated closer when Grim offered it. "He said to bring it with you."

Jonah took the letter and opened it. Grim climbed onto his shoulder and Jonah admit he missed the additional weight there.

_Dear Mr. Argentum,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been invited to a special meeting at Octavinelle Dorm's Mostro Lounge. Please bring this letter with you as a good-luck charm._

_The meeting begins on 13th December 2020 an hour after sunset. We'll be waiting for you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Azul Ashengrotto_

_Octavinelle Prefect_

"Is it true?"

Jonah looked up from the letter and turned his head slightly toward the source of Grim’s voice. "What is?"

"That you're making a deal for us?" Grim asked again. "Riddle was grumbling about it."

Jonah sighed. He reached up to pat Grim on the head. "It might be the only way to save you."

Grim rubbed his cheek onto Jonah, purring apologetically. "We didn't mean to get ourselves tricked. We thought we could help you."

"It's alright," Jonah said. "You guys share the same brain cells as me. We have the same stupidity."

"I'm not stupid! I'm a genius!"

"Then I'm a genius too." Jonah laughed. _Oh, how he missed this._ He smiled softly to Grim even though he couldn't see him. "I'll save you. I promise."

"I know you will," Grim purred "I trust you, captain."

Jonah looked down at the letter, glaring at it as if he was trying to burn it with his glare alone.

_He won't lose to that sea witch._

_He will not be another poor unfortunate soul._

_Even if he has to risk everything he has._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to cut this chapter because it was longer than I expected. I thought I could show you how Lilia's counter curse work and a small solution to Azul's curse for the signing contract meeting before the actual scene.
> 
> My internship is finally done! That means I'll be free in the morning before my afternoon classes. YAY!
> 
> Next chapter will be the reunion of pirate and mermaid and we'll finally see what Jonah is risking as his collateral. Eh he...  
> Hopefully I can update next Tuesday because reason...


	89. I Cut Out My Heart for You! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  
> I REGRET NOTHING!

Jonah had already gone out of his room after sunset. The letter from Ashengrotto tucked inside in the brown coat of his dorm uniform but his silver cutlass was nowhere to be seen. The meeting was supposed to be civil and Jonah tried to respect that. Heck, he even disabled every weapon and power up in his arm. He didn't want someone to get hurt because he carelessly swinging his sword or turn on his flame-thrower because he was angry.

The evening was chilly like in those horror movies, but knowing what he's about to do, might as well call this one too. Walking up to the Hall of Mirrors, he stole a glance toward the Heartslabyul. He bit his lip, feeling guilty. He never told the Heartslabyul about the letter, but he assumed Grim might say something. It was only a matter of time before Senior Riddle found out that he went out first, going in without telling him the full plan once again.

A mirror rippled and Jonah stopped his track. But it didn't come from Heartslabyul, instead it was Savanaclaw. The familiar wolf-boy emerged from the mirror, turning his head toward him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Jonah asked.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "What about you? Want to meet up with Azul early?"

"He already decided the time of the meeting," Jonah huffed. "I thought I did my best not telling you guys."

Jack crossed his arm in front of his chest. "So, his guesses are right," he said. "You are hiding something."

Jonah narrowed his eye at him. "Did Senior Riddle send you to watch me?"

Jack shook his head. Jonah sighed. "Good. I don't need him to stop me." Stepping closer to Octavinelle Mirror, he glanced back at Jack. A dangerous glint shining from his eye. "And I trust you won't do that?"

Jack ignored the warning or just stubborn enough not to back down. Striding quickly before the captain could step through, he grabbed the smaller boy's upper arm. Jonah didn't even try to get away, knowing that he's weaker than him.

"Hey. You said it last time: the lone wolf will only be hunted by the crowd," he said. "Then why are you going in alone?"

 _Did he say that? Huh. That was a long time ago._ "It's different."

"How different?"

Jonah didn't answer immediately. He was racking his brain for a reason. _What's different this time? He was willing to help Senior Riddle's plan in finding the culprit back then, so why he kept hiding from him in his?_ "I... W-Well he..."

Jack kept staring at him and Jonah could feel the anxiety. _Why?_ "Look." Jonah tried to pull his hand. "If you kept me here any longer, we'll be losing our chance to save them."

Jack was silent for a while before finally loosen his grip, letting Jonah pulled back his hand with a click of his tongue. Jonah gave Jack a sideways glance. "So? Are you coming or not?"

Jack blinked. "What?"

Jonah just shrugged. "There has to be a reason why you're out here, right?"

Staring at the captain, Jack sighed. "I did say, I want to help you, but in the end, I didn't do anything."

A small smile grazed Jonah's lips. "It's alright." His eye averted down. "To be honest, I would like to have as little people as I could."

"Why?"

Jonah opened his mouth, only to close it again, shaking his head. Looking forward, he took a deep breath before jumping through the mirror.

"Jonah!" Jack quickly took out his phone, sending an emergency message to Trey, Jack followed the captain.

* * *

The Mostro Lounge was empty around this time and Azul would normally be questioning the lack of customer. But of course, nothing was strange tonight, for this is a special occasion.

Jade came up beside him and leaned down next to his ear. "He's here."

Azul sighed through his nose. "Send him in." Jade nodded and once again walked away. It was only a matter of seconds before he heard the sound of more than one person's footsteps stopping a few feet behind him and it wasn't Jade because he returned to his position on his right.

Azul closed his eyes and put down the cup of tea he was drinking. "Welcome, dear client." Spinning his barstool, he rested his elbows on the bar behind him and one leg crossed on top of the other. Once again, he found himself staring at the familiar one-eyed boy and his white wolf friend. One of the pockets of his coat was glowing in yellow light, signing that he brought his letter as a temporary counter charm.

Jonah looked calm and collected while Jack was looking at him suspiciously. Azul chuckled. "Now, now. Don't just stand there. Why don't we sit down and chat for a while?"

"Where are they, Ashengrotto?" Jonah asked and Azul held himself back from huffing in annoyance.

"Are you really that worried about that meddling crew of yours?"

Jonah clenched his hand on his side. "I said this once and I'll say it again." His eyes narrowed, glaring at him. "Mess up with my crew and I’ll launch a canon at you."

Azul glared back at him. He let out a tired sigh. "Fine then." With a loud snap of his finger, the kitchen door was kicked open. Floyd strode out, waving his glowing magical pen. Ace, Deuce, and Grim stumbled in, groaning in pain.

"Captain!" Ace screamed as Floyd brought them down to their knees. "We're sorry! We didn't mean to-"

"Aah~ You're noisy!" Floyd whined as he waved his pen again, pulling the anemones even harsher.

"Guys!" Before Jonah could run up to them, Azul tapped his cane to the ground, silencing everyone and gaining the captain's attention once again.

"Now, now, captain," Azul smirked. "Don't let them distract you?" Without looking, he picked up his cup of tea again. "How about we just discuss your unfortunate problem?"

Jonah and Jack glanced at each other, before turning their attention back to Azul. "Alright."

The two underclassmen walked toward the bar. Jonah setting himself right next to Azul while Jack sat behind him. Jonah rested an elbow at the table and cupping his chin on the palm of his hand. "Let's just cut the case, Ashengrotto," he stated. "You know why I’m here."

Azul hummed. "Yes. You want me to free all those 225 poor clients that Jade and Floyd worked so hard to gather." He clicked his tongue. "Though isn't it a tad bit rude to just waste all their hard work? Besides, I'm not making them do any work that goes against labor standards. They agreed to my terms before signing the contract. You can't just nullify a contract just because you think they're pathetic. In other words..." He picked up his cup again and brought it to his lips, eyes narrowed at Jonah. "You are too late."

Jonah frowned. "Which is why I purpose a compromise. I want to make a deal with you."

They could hear the noises of protest coming from the three anemones but both of them agreed to ignore them. The corner of Azul's lips curled up. Chuckling, he said, "This is what I like about you, Captain Argentum. Your unpredictability is quite astounding." He put down his cup, the smile never left his face. "However, it seemed we have a bit of a problem."

"Are you talking about the collateral?"

"Unfortunately, yes. You do not possess a beautiful voice nor are you a royal country's only heir. You are but a simple human. If you wish to ask for something big, the collateral must be of equal value."

Jonah took a deep breath before letting it out through his mouth, an attempt to calm this beating heart. _This is it. There is no going back after this._

_... I'm so sorry, Riddle._

With a calm voice, Jonah spoke, "Then how about I give you my free-will?"

_*BANG!*_

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

All heads turned toward the entrance of the cafe where Riddle stood, face red with anger, his staff already pointing at Azul. " ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!"

Floyd laughed, jumping in front of Azul. " ** _[Bind the Heart]_** ~" he announced with a sing-song voice. A magic circle appeared in front of him, acting like a shield that suddenly reflected the upcoming red magic circle, shooting it back at Riddle. The Heartslabyul Prefect's eyes widened, but Trey suddenly appeared, pulling him behind the vice prefect and pointed his magical pen at the magic, screaming, " ** _[DOODLE SUIT]_**!" He turned Riddle's reflected magic into playing cards.

"Hahaha! This is fun!" Floyd suddenly ran fast toward them and jumped. Trey's eyes widened, unable to dodge the kick from Floyd. It was shockingly strong, sending him to the side, his back hitting the wall with a gasp.

"Trey-" Riddle screamed, but he was cut off when suddenly Floyd's hand found itself around his neck, cutting his breath as he was being lifted up from the ground.

"Hey, hey, Goldfish~" Floyd cooed, tightening the grip around the smaller boy's neck. "It's a bit rude to barge in a very important meeting."

Suddenly a gush of wind hit Floyd in the stomach, forcing him to let go of Riddle, making him fall to the ground. Cater ran toward the coughing prefect, still armed with his magical pen.

Jade stepped forward, a magic circle already appearing underneath his shoes. With one flick of his magical pen, he sent a water rope toward Cater. The orange-haired senior threw himself on top of Riddle, shielding him from the attack. However, the rope managed to tie itself around his hips and lifted the boy from the ground, sending him flying toward Trey.

Jack already shot out from his seat and punched Jade in the face. The senior staggered back, a cruel smile grazed his lips. Floyd had already got up, throwing his own punches and kicks at Jack who attacked back.

Jade glanced toward the three anemones. "Now. Don't slack off." He waved his wand and the anemones on Ace and Deuce head started to wiggle. Both of the Heartslabyul students suddenly threw themselves toward Riddle, but the prefect jumped out of the way, pointing his staff toward Jade and shot out a ball of fire, only to be counter with Jade's own ball of water.

Jonah jumped off from his seat. "Stop it!" he screamed. "Stop it now!"

"Hold a minute." Azul also stood up and put a hand on Jonah's shoulder, making the boy underneath him freeze. "Pay attention."

"Prefect Riddle! Watch out!" Ace somehow found himself grabbing a broom and started swinging it at Riddle who blocked it with his staff.

Trey and Cater finally got up and Cater immediately shot a wind-magic to throw Ace away from Riddle until he hit a table. "I'm sorry, Ace!" yelled Cater.

"It's okay..." Ace groaned in response. Jade waved his pen again, this time sending Deuce with his punches. Trey jumped in front of Riddle throwing, blocking Deuce's punch. However, Deuce suddenly punched him in the stomach, sending Trey to the ground. Cater pointed his pen at Deuce, but suddenly Grim came flying toward him, mouth open and teeth sharp. The controlled cat latched itself onto Cater's side biting it, earning a scream of pain from the senior. He tried to hit Grim on the head but the cat wouldn't let go.

"Cater-" Riddle was cut off with Ace suddenly tackled him, positioning himself behind Riddle, a knee on the prefect's back and pining both arms behind his back. Deuce kicked Trey on the stomach, forcing him to lay on his back, and pressed his foot onto the greenette's chest.

Floyd and Jack kept exchanging punches and kicks until Jack managed to kick Floyd to the ground, but the Leech boy managed to regain his composure quickly and swept Jack off his feet. Quickly, he tackled Jack and pressed his magical pen on Jack's side, sending electricity coursing through the wolf-boy's vein.

"You see, captain?" Azul's hand found itself grabbing Jonah's jaws as the boy shut his eyes, didn't have the heart to see the outcome of the battle. "On my ground, you don't have the power." Azul's lips curled up into a cruel smile. "So, how about we return to our discussion, shall we?"

"Jonah Argentum, stop this!" Riddle screamed even though it was futile to try to escape. "Don't you dare make a deal with him!"

Azul guided Jonah back to his seat and stood behind him, his hand never left his shoulder. "Now then. What was your collateral again?"

Jonah gulped. His eye gazed onto Riddle and suddenly he felt guilty, despite he was so confident before. Jonah closed his eye and took a deep breath. Without opening his eye, somehow it helped to steady his voice. "For my collateral... I'm giving you my free-will."

Several gaps were coming from the others but Jonah tried to ignore them. "If you win, then you can do whatever you want with me. Make me your anemone forever if you must. I won't run. I won't try to fight back or escape. I'm basically useless outside of you. And everything that I have left will be yours."

Azul was silent for a while. He glanced toward Riddle. The prefect looked devastated and angry at the same time. All of them were but it seemed that Riddle was affected the most. Azul looked down to Jonah again. "And how am I going to be sure that you will keep the end of the bargain?"

Jonah glanced up at him. "I am the captain of my word. I won't back down from a promise." He averted his gaze elsewhere as if he was considering something. "But if you need to confiscate something from me first." He took a deep breath and let it out. "This shall do."

Without warning, Jonah stood up and turned around, grabbing Azul's collar and pulling it harshly toward him. At the same time, Jonah leaned forward, crashing his lips on to Azul's in an impromptu kiss. "Mmph?!" Azul's eyes widened and his fingers twitched in disbelief. The room suddenly fell quiet, too shocked to react. The kiss itself was clearly amateurish. No tongue or nibbling involved. Jonah just spontaneously pressing their lips together. It was really awkward and slightly uncomfortable with their angle. Before Azul could even do anything, as quick as it came, Jonah pulled back, staring at the shocked face of the Octavinelle Prefect.

"What?" Jonah asked with a twitching smile, despite his pink-tainted cheeks. "Did I caught you by surprise? Or Maryanne was wrong and this was also your first kiss?"

Azul pushed Jonah away. There was a light blush on his cheek as he wiped his lips with the back of his gloved hand. "What do you think you're doing?" he muttered.

"Like I said," Jonah spoke, now sounding surer than before. "I'm risking everything on the line. And I mean _everything_. My power, my freedom, my first kiss, _everything_." He glared at Azul. "Will this be suitable as my collateral?"

The room was silent, waiting for Azul to respond. The Octavinelle Prefect let out a chuckle. "You'll gonna regret this."

"I'm willing to risk it," Jonah answered with a smirk. He stepped back, sitting the chair once occupied by Azul. "I've said my part, now I want to hear your condition."

Azul sat on Jonah's previous chair. "I think I have the perfect challenge for you," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "In three days’ time, I want you to steal a certain picture from the Atlantica Memorial Museum in the Coral Seas. It is the commemoration picture of Prince Rielle’s visit taken 10 years ago."

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. "A prince’s commemoration picture?"

Azul nodded. "It is positioned right near the entrance, so historically, it is of little importance. It is just that, a simple picture. It won’t cause a huge panic even if it’s gone missing."

"The Atlantica Memorial Museum in the Coral Seas is quite the famous tourist spot where you can see a lock of the King’s 'Silver Hair' and even the infamous 'Mermaid Princess’s Cork-opener'," Jade added. "It’s not like we’re making you search for something impossible at the bottom of the sea."

"Oh, yeah~" Floyd laughed, twirling his pen between his fingers. "I remember going there during our elementary school field trips~"

"Sounds simple, right? Just swim to the museum, take the picture, and bring it to me. You can use any methods, but I want that picture in my hand before the sunset on the third day." Azul picked up his cane and tapped the ground. Suddenly, a golden parchment appeared in front of Jonah's face. "So, do we have a deal?"

Jonah picked up the contract, reading it to make sure there wasn't any possible loophole that would bring him at a disadvantage. He glanced back to his fallen friends, all of them looked like they were pleading for him not to do this, especially after knowing what he's sacrificing. Somehow, Jonah managed to pull a genuine smile for him. "Sorry, guys. But it's the only way."

Ignoring the cries from the other, Jonah picked up the feather and signed his name at the bottom of the paper. Azul couldn't stop smiling as a violet magic circle appeared behind Jonah's signature, sealing the deal. It shone one last time before it folded itself and flew toward Azul's hand.

" ** _[It's A Deal]_** , Mister Argentum!" Azul shouted proudly. "If you succeed in doing the job, I will release all 225 of the servants that I have working under me right now. But if you don't, well." He chuckled, lips pulled in a cruel smile. He once again reached for Jonah's chin, his thumb purposely caressing that soft lips of his. "You belong to me!"

Jonah glared at him. "I won't lose to you."

Azul chuckled. "Give me a show that I won't regret, Captain." He stepped back, that smile never left his face. "Oh. And you better hold your breath."

Right when he said that, the invitation letter in Jonah's coat burnt out and suddenly Jonah found himself unable to breathe again. He tried to cover his nose and mouth but small bubbles managed to escape. Azul snapped his fingers, finally letting Ace, Deuce, and Grim off from their victim. Jack was the first one to run off, quickly pulling Jonah in bridal-style and ran out the door before the boy drowns again. Trey slung one of Cater's arm over his shoulder while the orange-haired boy tried his best to stay away despite the blood loss. Riddle was the last one to get out. Before completely stepping out he gave Azul one last glare.

"This is war."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, this chapter! THIS chapter!  
> I wrote this the whole night because I need to write THE chapter that sparks the entire fic.  
> Oh my goodness... I don't know about you, but I'm really happy how this chapter turned out. I guess it was the right decision to cut it into two since it was longer and less brutal.  
> I'm actually kinda surprise we've reached this far. And in a perfect time too. What perfect day to update this blog chapter than on a birthday?  
> So, yeah, I hope you guys like this. Take this as my birthday souvenir for you.


	90. Unfavorable Situation! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is tired after the whole deal-making.  
> The dungeon master finally laid out the rule for the little bard.

"OW! Uugh!"

"Hey, hey. Keep it together."

"S-Sorry." Cater gritted his teeth, trying his best to wretched his hand from Trey's hold to touch his side. It was a miracle that all of them managed to get to the infirmary before any of them collapse, especially Cater and Jonah. Grim's bite was unexpectedly deep, but they were lucky that none of the flesh was torn out.

Cater let out a weak chuckle. "Haah, in the end, I didn't do much."

"Don't say that." Trey shook his head, gripping onto Cater's hand tighter. "I'm the one who was pretty useless back there."

"Aw, don't be like that." Cater said, between his hisses. "We did our best."

Trey sighed. "It wasn't enough though." He looked to the bed next to Cater. Jonah was sitting on the bed, knees pulled close to his chest, hugging them closely. Riddle was pacing back and forth in front of his bed, face red like he was a bomb ready to explode. Jack sat on the chair next to Jonah's bed, his hand on the other's boy back as he patted him gently.

Jonah sighed, feeling dizzy from Riddle going back and forth. "Look. If you're going to say something, just spill it out."

Riddle stopped. Turning his head to Jonah, he was glaring so hard. "Oh, believe me. I have many things I want to say." He then sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But we can't waste any more time." He looked up at Jonah again, still glaring. "I give you ten minutes to explain yourself."

Jonah ran his hand down his face, huffing in annoyance. "Fine." He turned to the nurse. "I'm sorry, Mister Spencer. But can you leave us for the time being?"

Shalom sighed at him. "Young man, never have I ever meet someone who has many close calls like you. What does the headmaster see in you?" He looked at the other children. "Make sure you keep him out from killing himself because I don't want to handle another missing limb." With that, the old man walked outside, leaving the kids in silence for a few seconds.

"Alright. Recap." Jonah, jumped off the bed standing in front of the gang. "Basically, if we don't get that picture of the prince before the sunset next Thursday, I'll be Azul's slave for all eternity."

Riddle held back a scream from behind his throat. "And?" he grumbled. "What is your plan?"

Jonah didn't look at him. "We only have a few days in our hand, so we have to make these days worth it." He lifted his right arm and swiped the dark screen, lightning up as a transparent screen shone out. With a few taps, he opened a web all about the Atlantica Memorial Museum. "Alright, what I have in mind is that there's just no way that we can grab the photo in broad daylight. So, I suggest tomorrow morning we will at least scout the area first. Practice our swimming if we must, find the shortest way to get to the museum and other potential escape routes." He tapped a picture of the museum map, pointing at the several spots. "We can sneak in through the employee door tomorrow night."

"Wait," Jack spoke out. "If we're doing this at night, that means we only have two chances."

Jonah nodded. "That's why we need to at least know the battlefield. If we must, and by some miracle, we can return on day three." He looked between the rest of them. "Any question?"

Cater struggled to sit up from his spot. "Any idea how are we going to breathe underwater?"

Jonah hummed. He glanced at Trey. "Is there any spell or charm we can use?"

Trey tapped his chin, thinking for a while. "We can use the _bubble-head charm_ or eat some gillyweed. Or maybe that one transfiguration spell to change yourself to a shark." In the last part, Trey glanced at Cater and the orange-haired senior laughed. The rest of them didn't quite get it like it was just a joke between the two of them.

Nevertheless, Jonah nodded. "Alright." He looked at Cater. "If you're still hurt, you can sit this one out and maybe try to think of some ideas." Cater nodded and Jonah turned to the rest of the boys. "Meanwhile, all of us will be scouting tomorrow. Understand?" Trey, Jack, and Riddle nodded and Jonah nodded back.

"Good. Let's meet up again in the Mirror Chamber after morning class. Well then, it's already late. You guys should sleep." Without saying anything else, Jonah walked away, not even bothering to close the door behind him. The hallways were empty so he didn't have to worry about bumping into those anemones.

Though, he was slightly surprised when he heard running footsteps behind him and someone grasping his hand. He didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice. "Wait."

Jonah sighed tiredly through his nose. "Yes. Senior Riddle?"

"I just... I just need to know." The interesting part was the hand grasping his own was trembling. "Why... Why did do that?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Riddle was talking about. "As you said before," he started. "I have nothing else to give up. It's not like I have any other choice. My freedom for theirs seems to be the perfect offering, right?"

The grip on his hand became tighter. "You didn't you tell me?" Riddle's voice sounded desperate for some reason. "If you just come to me I can offer my _unique_ -"

"No!" Jonah suddenly turned around. Riddle's eyes widened as Jonah stared at him straight into his eyes, both of his hands holding his own. "I can't let you do that. No matter what, I can't."

"Why? You helped me in my overblot, so why I can't help you?!"

"It's different!"

"What is? Explain yourself!"

"I don't want you to get hurt!"

Riddle suddenly shut up. The captain's head hung low, forehead touching their grasping hand. His voice was soft, almost unheard, but Riddle noticed the trembling in it.

"You think I'm okay with Ashengrotto toying with you earlier, with him using Ace, Deuce, and Grim against us? Do you think I'm not worried about sending you, Cater and Jack, during that Sunday Supreme? You think I never miss Grim sleeping with me?" He looked up and Riddle could see the tears dripping from his eye. "I can't let you get hurt anymore. You guys are everything to me. I just..." He bit his lips. Jonah really didn't want to cry. He really didn't. But, he just felt so tired all of a sudden. It didn't help that he barely had enough sleep these past few days.

Riddle let go of his hands, but then he reached the back of Jonah's head and pulled him closer, resting his forehead onto Riddle's shoulder. "You are dear to me too," he whispered, running his fingers through that reddish-brown hair. "I am forever grateful you saved me back then. So, please..." His other hand reached behind Jonah, pulling him into a hug. "Let me help you."

The dam just broke. Jonah hugged Riddle closer as he cried, not caring if his sobs echoed through the hallway. Riddle just kept running his hand in a comforting manner. Jonah needed it. He wasn't the only one who was tired. Even after listening to that Riddle wondered what would happen if he had come earlier, signing that contract on behalf Jonah's name. _It was a strange thought. He never thought that there would be the day where he would give up his unique magic for someone. Strangely, he didn't feel guilty about that, like if he had the chance to do that for the sake of his dearest friend, he would do that._

_How strange. But a welcoming type of strange._

* * *

There was a knocking on his door which caused Jonah to snapped his eyes open. _Who would come here very early in the morning?_

"Are you awake, Mister Argentum?"

 _Ashnegrotto?!_ All the remaining sleep had left his body as Jonah quickly jumped out of bed and ran toward the door, tumbling from his blanket.

"Don't bother opening the door unless you want to drown again." Ashengrotto's word stopped Jonah from grabbing the handle. Glancing to the mirror, he could see his eye had changed into green, activating his counter curse. "You better listen carefully, because I won't be repeating." Pressing his back to the door and sitting on the floor, Jonah swiped the screen on his arm, quickly picking the voice recording function. "As you know, your mission technically starts the moment you sign that contract, but we need to settle some rule."

Behind the door, Azul was gripping hard onto the handle as if he was trying to anchor himself. Taking a deep breath, he started to speak again, keeping his voice professional. "Think of this as a real-life Maze and Monster. I'll be the Maze Overseer and you'll be the player. Your objective is pretty clear: get the picture and bring it to me. There's no need for you to roll a dice or pick a card. Any underwater spells, charms, and potions are allowed. All you need to do is to get the picture with your own two hands."

"There is a catch though. As the Maze Overseer, I will know every bit of your plan." Jonah's eyes widened as the Octavinelle Prefect continued. "After all, you surrendered your free-will to me, thus, I have the right to know and control everything you do." Azul chuckled. "But I'll be lenient this early on. You'll get used to it if you lose." Jonah tried his best not to immediately rip the door off and punch that takoyaki on the face. But he needed to hold back. Just for a few more seconds. "Just for clarification, I want you to be the one who brings that photo to me."

Azul's hand slipped from the handle as he took a step back, lips twisted into a smile. "Remember, Jonah Argentum. I'll always have my eyes on you." With that, he turned around, leaving the boy behind the door racking his brain for any alternative plans.

Even after Ashengrotto's footstep had faded, Jonah could still feel his presence, looming over him, watching him in every move. He quickly sent the voice recording and a short message to three numbers, then immediately turned off the screen. He looked around, watching every corner in his room with high-alert. It felt like he was an animal trapped in a cage and Ashengrotto was watching him for his own entertainment.

He needed to win this quickly.

_And thus, the game began..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tying to loose end from the last chapter and hopefully Azul's explanation in this chapter is clear.  
> Basically, Azul is some sort of watch. Anything Jonah does, Azul will know, and if he wants to, he can prevent Jonah. Hopefully, I use my work correctly, because the game of loopholes is just getting worse.


	91. A Big-Un's a-Brewin' Mysterious Fathoms Below (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Which one of you Kingdom Hearts players actually like Atlantica?

_Do what you want. Don’t talk to me._

This was probably the shortest and most cryptic message that Jack had ever gotten, but the recording attached to it was more concerning. _When did Azul visit Jonah? Last night after that short planning? This morning?_ The recording was even worse. Listening to Azul really made Jack want to punch him in the face. He still couldn’t believe that Jonah would give up his free will for someone like that. This recording just painted an even uglier picture of that manipulative bastard.

Leona and Ruggie noticed his disturbed face, so they asked and Jack had no choice but to tell them everything, including replaying that cursed recording. The prefect groaned, massaging his forehead from the sudden migraine. “So, let me get this straight,” he said. “That Pirate Boy has until the sunset on the third day to sneak into the Atlantica Memorial Museum and steal a picture, if not he’ll become that Octo Punk’s slave?”

“It gets worse too,” Ruggie added, leaning against the pillar with hands folded behind his head. “Azul knows all of Jonah’s thoughts and plans. No matter how secretive he plans, it will be as if he’s spilling everything for Azul.”

“That Pirate Boy had gotten into more trouble than he can handle.” Leona sighed, leaning back with elbows against the fence separating the spectators’ seat and the arena. “It will be a miracle if he actually wins this.”

Jack turned to him, frowning. “Wait. You’re not going to help?” There was a hint of growling at the end of his question. “After what Jonah did for you-”

Without even looking at him, Leona raised his hand. “I’m going to stop you right there.” He tilted his head back. “Remember what he said once: it would be better if Azul doesn’t know well about our relationship. If I step in, Azul will have eyes on me, possibly the whole Savanaclaw as well. It’s already risky for Jonah to have you on the team. He just can’t let himself lose anymore backups.”

Jack curled up his fingers into a fist but begrudgingly agree with his prefect. Leona let out a chuckle. “Jack. You need to find the loophole.”

Jack’s ears perked up as Leona moved, standing straight facing Jack with hands in his pocket and grinning at him. “Only because the Pirate Boy couldn’t get help from me unless he needed to, but that doesn’t mean _you_ can’t get help from me or the others.”

“What?”

Leona held himself back from rolling his eyes. _These kids were such a goodie-two-shoes._ “What do you plan after this? You’re not thinking of immediately jump into the sea, right?”

Jack shook his head. “We’re thinking of scouting the area first and practice swimming if we must.”

“Good. Baby steps,” Leona hummed, brow scrunched and finger tapping his chin as his tail swished. “You have to be careful not to be too close to Jonah.” He started to pace around. “ And I doubt Azul just let all of you dive to the museum without any obstacle. He’ll probably send his anemones, if not, the Leech twins themselves. There’s no way you can win against them.”

“And why is that?” Jack asked, making a mental note in his head for future confrontation.

Leona paused his pacing. “Mermaids,” he spat.

Jack’s eyes widened. There was a pause between them, letting the information sink in. _Mermaids? Like, all of them?_ Jack knew he couldn’t judge. Merfolks were technically beastmen like him.

“I saw Floyd go back to his original eel form during our joint swimming lessons last summer, so…” Ruggie winched. “Yeah. You’re probably fucked if you got chased by them.”

“Eel merfolks… This is bad,” Jack muttered. “Wait. Does that mean Azul is octopus merfolk?”

Leona nodded. “But I doubt that Azul will come down on his own since he has Jonah as his eyes.” He turned back to Jack, staring at him so seriously, making sure that he pays attention. “If what Azul said is true, with him keep watching Jonah’s every move, you can’t be around his line unless you want Azul to have eyes on you.”

Jack nodded, and Leona continued. “You can’t just swim away carelessly from them as well. If you want to beat a mermaid in a swimming contest, you better wish that you have your very own tail.”

* * *

**Dawn of the First Day - Tuesday, 7th December**

* * *

Walking down the hallway never felt this hard before. It felt like someone was looming over him, watching every twitch of his fingers and judging all words that came out from his mouth. The feeling was suffocating. He realized that he was walking slightly faster than usual, not even bothering to greet anyone passing by. He needed to get out. Get out from the crowd. Get out from the eyes. Out. Out. _OUT!_

Reaching to the Mirror Chamber, he ripped the door open and closed behind him. He leaned back against the door, gripping his chest to try to calm his racing heart.

“Jonah?”

His left hand immediately reached for his prosthetic arm, tapping quickly and aimed in front of him. Realizing what he was about to shoot, he clenched his prosthetic fist, stopping the charging up. He lowered his arms and head, still breathing heavily. “Sorry.”

Riddle lowered his arms. _He didn't shoot. Calm down. He didn't shoot this time._ Stepping closer to Jonah slowly, he put a hand on his shoulder, frowning at the way Jonah’s head immediately shot up almost in a terrified-way. When he received the message and recording, Riddle was so close to storming in back to Octavinelle in his pajamas only to be stopped by Trey, the only one who probably has the brain.

Jonah let out a soft chuckle. “Not gonna lie. I wasn’t expecting you guys to come.”

Riddle looked behind him, where Jack walked toward him. “Trey and Cater aren’t coming.” Riddle looked back at Jonah. “I can’t just let Cater up and out right now. That wound is still pretty deep. Trey is taking care of him right now.”

“I understand.” Jonah nodded. He looked up again. “You know that you guys can walk away from this, right?”

“And leaving you to go on your own?” Jack spoke, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “We’ve already told you that we want to help. There’s no way we’re letting you go on your own. Not to mention the disadvantages on your side.”

Jonah sighed. “I can’t deny that this wasn’t what I expected. I guess improvisation is a must right now.” He grasped Riddle’s hand, giving him a little squeeze and a smile before letting it slide down. “So, does any of you know any underwater spell?” 

“I know.” Riddle took out his magical pen.

Jonah nodded. “Good. Remember, we are mainly here to getting used to our new surroundings before actually going in battle.”

Riddle and Jack nodded. The three of them stepped forward to the Dark Mirror.

Riddle waved his magical pen. **_“[Spiritus Bulla]_**!” he chanted. Three clear bubbles came out from his wand and pressed themselves onto their mouth. It enlarged so now it covered from their nose to bellow their chin.

Reaching for the frame of the Dark Mirror, Jonah closed his eye. “ ** _[Dark Mirror, I command thee]_** :” he chanted. “ ** _[Take us all to the Coral Sea]_**!”

The Dark Mirror shone and water flowed out the mirror. Instantly, Jonah grabbed Riddle and Jack's hands as the water touched their shoes. The water shot upward, creating a vortex, and all of them disappeared.

**_[“Well, then.” Inside his office, Azul sat in front of his desk, an opened book prepared. Thin green smoke swirling on top of it. It was amazing that he could create a replica of the map of the Coral Sea, at least the area around the Atlantica Memorial Museum, and a few waves beyond. Two pawns shaped like an eel were set on one part of the book._ **

**_The prefect smirked, twirling his magical pen in hand as he tossed three pieces (an eye-patch, a rose, and a wolf) before catching it again. “Let’s begin our game.”]_ **

* * *

If this was a different circumstance, Jonah would actually enjoy his first trip under the sea. The underwater world was practically boundless on all sides. There were no walls here; just endless blue space and since gravity was mostly irrelevant, nothing couldn't be reached. A wide variety of colorful undersea plants and flowers grow where it seems the most impossible. Large patches of coral decorate the landscape, distracting from the monotonous shades of blue with its bright colors. Sunlight filtered through the water from above, casting a strange and beautiful reflection of light carelessly on the blue ocean floor.

“Amazing…” Jack breathed out. “It’s beautiful down here.”

Riddle nodded, swam back as a group of angelfish passed in front of their face. He did not doubt that if Cater was here, he would take so many pictures. _Hopefully, everything went well on their side…_

Jonah let go of their hand and tried to swim forward. But his feet dipped lower. “Gah!”

“Whoa!” Riddle swam forward and pulled him up. “Come on. Don’t you know how to swim?”

Jonah chuckled lightly. “Uh… No.”

Riddle sighed. “Do I need to give you a swimming lesson after this?”

Jack swam forward. “How about both of you go to one way and I go the other?”

Jonah frowned. “Alone? Wouldn’t it be better if we go together?”

Riddle swam in front of his face. “I agree with Jack. That way we can cover more ground and take the shortest route.”

Jonah bit his lip, but in the end, he nodded. “Alright.”

Riddle offered his hands. “Come on. We can start your first lesson here.”

Jack swam nearly expertly to one side as Jonah grasped Riddle's hands and being pulled to the other directions. Riddle pulled him, swimming backward as he gave instructed him to keep kicking his feet until he didn’t dip anymore and they don’t need to hold hands again.

**_[Watching from Jonah’s perspective, Azul drew a line as the two boys swim, their pieces moving on their own, scattering fish-shaped stickers and more pieces representing the corals every time Jonah noticed to mark their way. Azul smirked, looking at the line of the pen leading to the area nearing the museum.]_ **

“Whoa,” Jonah breathed out, looking at the building beyond the reef where he and Riddle were hiding. The museum was a series of tall silver towers, towering to the surface as they gleamed brilliantly in the filtered sun. The entire museum was shining, a bright light amidst the vast expanse of the blue ocean. Many merfolks swam past them, some were half-human with fish-tail, some were human with scales and colorful skin and tail.

“That must be the museum,” Jonah spoke out loud.

Riddle looked around among the fish folks. “I can’t see Jack anywhere. He hasn’t arrived yet?”

**_[“It’s really too bad, Captain.” Azul glanced at the eel pieces as it moved toward the rose and eye-patch. “It seemed you have some companies.”]_ **

Two shadows swam past them. They were supposed to ignore it, possibly just a couple of merfolks passing by-

“Ah~ Baby Seal and Goldfish are finally here~”

“Greetings, gentlemen. How do you like the world under the sea?”

Riddle and Jonah swam back, looking around in alert. Jonah grasped Riddle's hand, surprising the Heartslabyul Prefect. A flash of teal passed in the corner of his eyes and he quickly pulled Jonah behind him, taking out his magical pen.

“Show yourself!” Jonah shouted, still looking around. He turned his head to one way-

\- Only to come face to face with a pair of heterochromia eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, this chapter was a bit lackluster. Hopefully, you guys don’t mind.  
> I still haven't found a good way to form the Azul-Jonah controlling connections.


	92. Beluga Sevruga, Come Winds of the Caspian Sea! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lame chase scene is lame...  
> Also eels with abs.

Before Floyd could say anything, Riddle pulled Jonah back even further than before. He should've guessed something like this might happen. There was just no way Azul would let them go as they pleased. There had to be something in their way. Sending the Leech Twins seemed like the most logical thing to do. The Leech Twins themselves were... Well, Riddle didn't know what to describe them. They had the same teal hair with black strands and dual-colored eyes. But now, both of them had slimy teal skin with freckles and white patches from their neck, down their abs, and from below their elbows. Their face was also pale with two stripes of facial markings underneath both of his eyes, the same marking could be found on their body as well. They also had a pair of fins on their ears and lower arm. To top it all, instead of a pair of legs, they had a long eel-tail.

Riddle gripped on his magical pen harder, the gems already glowing to prepare for an incoming attack. He knew the danger of facing these merfolks in their natural habitat. What actually surprised him was the nonexistent surprise from Jonah. He didn't even scream when Floyd suddenly appeared. Glancing back, he saw Jonah's eye darted in every direction cautiously. It was as if he couldn't see them.

 **_["Hmm?" Azul blinked in surprise when he saw the eel pieces' color faded, turning into the same color as the paper of his book._ ** **What's wrong here? And why the captain wasn't gasping for air? _]_**

"Riddle." Riddle felt Jonah gripped onto his blazer and pressed himself closer to him. If this was any other situation, Riddle would blush at the closeness, but unfortunately, now wasn’t a good time. "Are they here?"

"Yeah," Riddle answered, voice just above a whisper for reassurance. He glanced behind him. "What's wrong?"

"I can't see them," Jonah whispered again, looking up slightly just to make sure Riddle saw his glazed green eye. "Side effect of the counter curse."

**_["Of course." Azul leaned back to his seat, hand ran down his face as he sighed. "Thinking ahead, are we now?"]_ **

"Eh?" Floyd tiled his head to the side as he and Jade slowly swam around them. "What's with the no reaction?"

Riddle shifted their position and wrapped his arm around the smaller boy’s shoulder to keep him close to his chest as he pointed his pen back-and-forth between the eel twins.

"Look, Baby Seal~ We have tails now~" Floyd tried again, flipping his tail and sent bubbles to the boys’ face.

Jonah coughed from the surprise. "Tails?" he asked out loud, looking forward as if he was still able to see them. "But you're not like Savanaclaw. How come you have tails?"

"We drink a potion to change our forms for when we’re above the water,” Jade chimed in. “It would be very difficult to walk on land like this, you see?"

"Don't be so scared, Baby Seal and Goldfish~" Floyd swam closer, but Riddle pulled themselves back.

"I am NOT a goldfish!"

"Riddle.” He felt Jonah pulled his vest. Looking down, he saw him still looking straight ahead, but he still whispered at him, “We need to run."

Riddle nodded slightly. He had no doubt he could memorize the exact pathway just in case they need to go through the same way. Looking around, trying to find a way to escape. He was sure with these legs the twins would catch them eventually. _He needed to distract them somehow._ Looking at the sand, he was a small patch of seaweed. _That’ll do._

Riddle shot out his magic toward the seaweed, enlarging it and turning it into a claw-like. The tweels didn’t expect this. They were stunted when the seaweed captured them.

“No fair, Goldfish!” Floyd whined. “You can’t get the early start. That’s cheating!”

“Like I care!” Riddle screamed. He pulled Jonah by the hand. “Let’s go!”

The two boys swam as fast as they could, trying to get as far as possible. Jade looked at their escaped prey. He sighed, “How stubborn.” He twisted his body and flicked his tail with a strength no one was expected, cutting his seaweed into pieces. He did the same to Floyd’s.

“Well, then Floyd,” Jade said, lips curled up into a sadistic-like smile. “Shall we go after them?”

“Okay, Jade~” Floyd giggled. “I’m going to catch them!”

The twins didn’t waste any more time swimming after them. In just a short time, when Riddle looked back, his eyes widened when he saw them hot on their tail. "Come here, Baby Seal~” Jonah eye widened, of course, horrified by the voice, and to make it worse, he couldn’t see Floyd stretched out his hand, fingers nearly brushing his shoes-

A sudden force came from the side, crashing onto Floyd. Riddle, Jonah, and Jade stopped to look at the culprit. A familiar boy with white hair and wolf ears turned to the human boys. “Don’t stop here! Swim!”

Jack swam past, pulling Jonah with him and Riddle followed. Jade swam over Floyd. “Did you hit your head, Floyd?”

Floyd let out a groan. “That Sea Urchin just slammed at me,” he pouted. “I’m not a bowling pin.”

Jade sighed. “At least you didn’t break any bone. Come on.” He stretched out his and. “We’re not done here.”

Floyd grinned and grabbed the hand, swimming back up again.

**_[Azul hummed as he poured some pieces of paper that he made looks like a sprinkle of fishes. “A school of fish suddenly appeared on your way,” he announced. In his hand, there was a 38-side dice. “Roll over 20 to swim pass.” He tossed the dice onto the table. It landed on 13. He chuckled. “Too bad, Captain. There’s no avoiding this.”]_ **

A moonfish swam past them. They would ignore it at first. But then, another one swam past. And another. Soon the swarm of moonfish swam through them, blocking the way. “Get out of the way!” Riddle yelled. He and Jack swam to the side. However, Jonah’s hand slipped out of Jack’s grip. Both boys’ eyes widened. The school of moonfish hit him in the face, throwing him back. His back was suddenly hit by an invisible force. Something strong gripped his chin, forcing him to look forward to the shocked Riddle and Jack, and something slithered around his leg, chest, and arms, locking him in place.

“Jonah!” Riddle swam toward him but something suddenly pushed him to the sand, hands pinned next to his head and legs kicking uselessly.

"Catch you, Goldfish~" Floyd laughed from on top of Riddle. "That was fun while it lasts ~!"

Jonah held back a whine, frustrated that he could see his enemy. He was sure that Azul was laughing right now. He felt the one gripping his chin lifted his head, fingers trailing to his neck. "You know.” Jade’s voice filled his ear. “If you just listen to Azul and don’t come that day, this wouldn't happen." He felt his fingers squeezed. “Such friend you turns out to be. Poor Azul-”

He didn’t get to finish it when a fist suddenly came to his face, forcing him to let go of the captain. Jonah felt someone else gripped his upper arms. His yellow eye found Jack’s.

“You alright?" he asked. Jonah nodded quickly, pulling back his hand from touching his neck again.

Meanwhile, Riddle was still struggling with Floyd. The eel was proven to be stronger than him. Frustrated, Riddle shot his head forward, colliding both of their foreheads. Floyd screamed, and just to add the pain, Riddle pulled his hand which was still in Floyd's clutches, and bit down hard. Floyd pulled back his hand and Riddle immediately followed with a kick on the stomach (he didn’t want to admit that Floyd has some hard abs).

Jack and Jonah swam toward him. “Riddle!” Jonah called him. “Are you hurt?”

“No…” Riddle groaned and spit out all the unwanted slime from his mouth. “I’m going to need Trey’s teeth-brushing treatment later.”

“Come on, we nearly reach our checkpoint,” Jack said, grabbing both of their arms and pulled them away, leaving the twins behind.

Floyd sat on the sand, whining, “He bit me!”

Jade chuckled as he swam toward him. “At least you didn’t bleed.”

Floyd pouted at him. “I’ll get them when they get back.” His pout slowly turned into a smile. “There’s no way that those flimsy legs of theirs can win against us mermaids under the sea, right, Jade~!”

“Yes, Floyd~!” Jade added with his own smile. “We shall await their next visit.”

Their chuckling echoed down as the gang finally reached the place where they first dove in. Jonah took out a small mirror from his pocket and pointed forward, chanting. “ ** _[Magic mirror, out of the water]_**! **_[Take us back to the Mirror Chamber]_**!” A swarm of bubbles suddenly came out of the mirror and hit them. It was so much that others couldn’t see them. When all the bubbles popped, they were nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One underwater chase scene down, three to go…  
> Aw, man. I hope I describe the tweels well because I can’t describe things to save my life.  
> I decided to cut this chapter into two because I found out it was longer than I expected and I think this is a perfect way to cut it first. The next chapter is filled with some collective scenes with multiple people doing everything at once.


	93. Should I Give Him Away or Feel This Bad? (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the rest of the gang is way ahead of planning than the captain himself.

Water burst out of the Dark Mirror, spitting out three students from the sea. All of them were laying on the ground, panting, and soaked to the bone. Jack was the first one to sit up from his face down position, shaking his head, body, and tail like a wet dog after a bath. He looked at the other two. Jonah was laying on his back with one of his arms on his face to cover his closed eye and tried to control his breathing. Riddle slowly got up from laying on his side, coughing as spitting, trying to get rid of the disgusting taste of eel-mucus.

"There’s no way we can win against mermaids under the sea..." Jack breathed out.

"We need a tail," Jonah spoke out, voice slightly hoarse from the tiredness and frustration. He lifted his arm from his eyes, letting it fall to his side. “Does any of you know how to make a somewhat-mermaid potion or spell?”

“Salacia potion would work,” Riddle answered. “But that’s an advanced level potion that isn’t taught in school. Even I can’t brew it correctly.”

“Well, we don’t have time for experimenting.” Jonah slowly sat up as he continued. "We need to brew as soon as we can. If we can do it by sunset we can make a night ambush-"

**_["Oh?"]_ **

Jonah’s eye immediately widened. "Shit."

Of course, Jack noticed it. "What?"

"I... I thought about it," Jonah spoke slowly, staring at his trembling hands on his lap. "I blew up..."

No confirmation was needed for both Jack and Riddle. They knew that Azul just read Jonah’s mind because of the contract. They had already anticipated things like this. He probably had set something for their night invasion, possibly sending the twins again-

Riddle's eyes widened. "Wait. I don't think this will work."

Both Jack and Jonah looked up to him. "What?" the brunette asked.

Riddle turned his head toward him, but more focusing on Jonah. "If we go at night, like after sunset, the counter curse won't work."

Once again, Jonah's eye widened. "Ah-!"

Jack quickly connected the dots. "And if we face those Eel Twins again, you won't be able to breathe."

"That's..." Frustration once again came crashing down onto him. He gripped his hair, trying his best not to cry. But man, he felt like he wants to. _Damn it. He didn't think that through. How could he forget about that as well? It was already embarrassing enough that he was useless back there for not being able to see the Leech Twins, now he was practically trying to kill himself-_

“Hey.” A hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality. “Hey.” Turning his head to the voice, his black eye met with a pair of gray. "Look. We've at least know what we are facing. We should think of an alternative tonight."

Riddle helped Jonah up, moving his hand to hold him around the shoulders while the other was holding his hand. "Come on. I'll make you some tea and cookies."

Jonah didn’t even nod. He just let Riddle led him out of the Mirror Chamber, still feeling disappointed in himself. The walk was silent and to be honest, Jonah was grateful for that. They arrived in the Hall of Mirrors. Jonah vaguely remembered Riddle led him to the Heartslabyul Mirror.

Not even realizing that Jack stopped following him or Riddle and Jack exchanged a glance, a silent signal before Jack turned to enter the Pomefiore Mirror.

* * *

"Well, that was certainly something," Azul mumbled as he doodled on his book with his glowing magical pen. Most of the gaming pieces were set aside, making rooms for new Mostro Lounge reports and additional contracts. It was funny that people still wanted to make a deal with him despite the whole anemones mess. _Well, they do say desperate times call for desperate measures._

_Maybe he was desperate at that time as well-_

The door to his office was suddenly being opened and Azul quickly closed his book. Slightly frowning when a familiar ginger-head walked in with a tray in his hand. "I got your tea."

The corner of Azul’s eye twitched but he kept smiling. "Why thank you, Trappola. Though I would appreciate it more if you knock on the door first.”

Ace just rolled his head as he closed the door and walked toward the table. He put the cup and its saucer in front of Azul and the boss took a small sip. His brow furrowed. "How long did you brew this?"

Ace shrugged. "I don't know."

Azul sighed as he put down the cup. "I don't like this unprofessionalism. I told you to brew this for six and a half minutes."

Ace veins popped. He was holding himself back from smacking the prefect with his tray, but he knew he couldn’t fight back without getting his anemones pulled. "Then why don't you brew it on your own?!"

Azul clicked his tongue. "You poor anemones." He stood up and picked up his book. Ace saw Azul took out a key from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole of the giant save behind them. They could hear the sound of the safe turning and opening up. Ace stepped out of the way, standing behind the door while Azul stood in front of the safe filled with golden papers. The key was still stuck on the keyhole. Ace knew it was risky, but this might be his only chance. He just couldn’t sit there and wait like a damsel in distress knowing what the captain is risking his freedom for them.

He quickly pulled the key from the keyhole and shoved it into his pocket, trying to make as little sound as possible over Azul's talks. "I understand that this is tough for you. But you need to learn."

Azul put his book into the safe, tucked between the contracts. He reached for the door and closed it. He paused of a second there before giving Ace a sideways glance. "Your captain is doing his best here. Why can't you?"

Ace growled at him. "He's not supposed to get involved in this mess." He stepped forward, glaring at him. "You said it yourself that you would rather have him out of your business!"

"Your captain is a nosy little brat. Sticking his nose in other people's problems," Azul responded, voice deep, not afraid of this small fry.

But Ace didn’t back down. "If you know that making deal with us would bring Jonah into this sooner or later, why do you still do it?"

Azul suddenly picked up his magical pen and shoved it to Ace’s neck, the gem glowing threateningly. "I do not like it if my anemones are questioning the way I run my business." Using the end of the pen, he lifted Ace’s chin. The freshman could see the dangerous glint in Azul’s eyes and he was sure that if Azul wanted to, he would blast him right now.

But Azul lowered his pen despite that he was still glaring at him, but Ace couldn’t help but let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. "Now,” Azul stated. “Be a good guppy and leave this room or else I'll give Argentum more trouble than before."

Ace glared at him, but he knew he lost this time. The ginger-head turned around and headed to the door before Azul once again called, "Mister Ace Trappola."

Ace stopped his track but didn’t turn around. Azul walked toward him. "My key.”

Ace shoved his hand into his pocket, gripping the key tightly. Azul noticed the way Ace’s lips move but no voice came out from his mouth. He cleared his throat. “I’m waiting.”

Ace finally sighed. "Right." He turned around and dropped the key into Azul’s waiting palm. Without waiting for any order, Ace walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Azul looked at the key in his hand, then to the door. He should add more protection to the safe. Just for safety precautions. 

* * *

"What's with all the racket?"

The two Pomefiore students turned around and their faces immediately became pale. Jack watched as Vil, in his lab gear, walked toward them and stopped just a few steps before the front gate of the dorm, brow slightly scrunched. He averted his gaze to Jack. “What are you doing here, Jack?”

Jack nodded his head in greeting before continuing, "Is Epel here? We have something we need-”

Vil lifted his hand, cutting him off. "Is this a 'mermaid transformation potion' matters?" he asked.

Jack's eyes widened slightly. "How did you know?"

Vil stared at him for another few seconds before dropped his hand. "Potatoes, let him through." The two Pomefiore students stared at Vil in shock, but the prefect just continued, "We have important things to do."

"Yes, Prefect!" The two finally stepped out from Jack’s way. Vil nodded at him and turned around, walking back into the dorm. Jack took this as a signal to follow the prefect.

The Pomefiore dorm had the opposite feel from Savanaclaw. The walls were white and clean, decorated with portraits and small chandeliers hung on the ceiling. On the sides, there were luxurious decorations. Jack felt so out of place. Even walking down the red carpet as the sun shone through the big glass window made him felt like a peasant compared to Vil’s regal aura.

Jack cleared his throat as he finally caught up to Vil and was now walking next to him. "Did Epel tell you about this?"

Vil hummed. "Oh, he told me many. About Azul, Jonah, and the contracts. A lot of Pomefiore students have also unfortunately trapped in his game." He gave Jack a sideways glance. "He received the message from you and Jonah and decided to sneak into the prefect's lab. I caught him extracting the gillyweed incorrectly. Threatened him to add more manner lessons and he spitted out everything." He let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I still can't believe all of you are stupid enough to get caught in this mess."

Jack hummed apologetically. "I didn't expect you to be helping us."

"I promised Uncle Dire that I will look out for him,” Vil said as they turned around the corner. “This is the least I can do without getting too much involved in Azul's radar. Us older siblings must help the younger ones, right?"

Jack hummed in agreement. _Of course, he understands that feeling._ He knew the feeling of needing to watch over your younger siblings, for he also has two; a brother and a sister, whom he loves dearly. _He guesses that it is just an older brother's instinct._

Vil led them to a door with a stair that went downward. Compare to the rest of fancy hallways, the stairway felt gloomier, like there were walking down to a medieval dungeon. Opening another door at the bottom of the stairs, Vil revealed an underground, dungeon-like, laboratory, filled with various equipment and potions, and shelves of books Jack had never heard of. Trey, Cater and Epel was there on their work station, crushing ingredients and pouring liquid into vials.

"Epel!" Vil screamed, making Epel pull his hand away from putting a wooden spoon inside a bubbling cauldron.

"Vil!" Epel squeaked back. Vil took a quick stride to Epel and flicked the smaller boy’s forehead, earning a winch from him.

"That's 'Senior Vil' or 'Prefect'," he scolded. "And I told you that you're supposed to stir it counter-clockwise!" He picked up the wooden spoon, pointing at Epel like a nagging mother in the middle of making dinner. "It's not even time to stir it yet. Give it three more minutes."

Epel stepped back. "S-Sorry."

"What is this actually?" Jack walked up to the cauldron, sniffing the air. "I've never smelled this before."

“Salacia potion,” Vil answered, looking at the timer on his phone. "A modification of the basic polyjuice potion to change into someone else, but not animals. Combining this with the properties of gillyweed which give you fish-like attributes."

The timer went off and Vil stirred the potion counter-clockwise about three times. "A few ingredients in between and boiling for nearly eight hours. We're in the last steps." He turned his head toward the Heartslabyul students. "Trey, grab me a scoop of lacewings and a vial of gillyweed juice. Cater, can you quickly crush two lionfish spine?"

He gained a "right" and “on it” from both of them. Trey was the first one to grab the ingredients that he had prepared; a jar of dead flies and a vial of some toxic green liquid. Vil grabbed both of the ingredients and poured it in, changing the liquid inside the cauldron from purple to green, and stirred it one more time.

Cater came out and gave Vil a plate of crushed powder. “Stand back. This will pop a bit…” The others stepped back and Vil poured the powder inside the cauldron. He immediately stepped back when light green smoke burst out from the cauldron. Quickly, before the smoke disappeared completely, he took out his magical pen, flicking it as he chanted, " ** _[Abyssalacia]_**!"

The green smoke turned gray and it got sucked back into the cauldron. Vil walked toward it, nodding in satisfaction when he saw the grey liquid. "It is done," he said, turning to the gang. "A cauldron-full of salacia potion."

Trey and Cater let out a sigh, tired but happy they had finally done it. Epel came up to Vil while carrying a wooden rack of vials. Vil nodded at him, a gesture to say ‘thank you’.

"Drink a vile of this and you'll turn into a mermaid when you touch seawater and turn back into a human once you’re out from the water," the prefect said as he poured the potion into several vials and secured it with a cork. "However, I don't guarantee that it will change you into your favorite fish. Maybe you want to be a jellyfish but turns into a squid instead. So, this potion is still risky to be consumed."

He gave the vials to Trey, who nodded in gratitude. "Thank you. We'll take that risk."

"When are you going to dive?" Vil asked.

"We did earlier,” Jack said. “But we're doing it again tonight."

Vil nodded. "Let's hope one of your squad turns into an anglerfish."

"I'll join you," Epel spoke out, taking off his goggles.

Vil grabbed the back of Epel’s lab coat collar, pulling him back. "No."

Epel turned his head toward him, glaring at him."But Vil-"

"It's not that I don't want you to help," Vil quickly said.

Jack stepped up, giving Epel a pat on the shoulder. "Senior Leona mentioned this too. And with the additional order, we can't let Azul know that you're also working behind the scene."

"He probably had suspicion if Jonah gets his hand on a potion that he didn't brew himself," Vil added. He looked up at Jack and the Heartslabyul students. "If Jonah asks, just say that you brew it this night. Pomefiore will lay low."

Trey nodded again. "Right. Again, thank you very much."

Vil nodded at them. "Good luck. The One-Eyed Captain always finds a way to turn the situations around."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I accidentally published the unfinished version earlier. But now it's done, finally...
> 
> Man… So many things happening in this chapter. 
> 
> Writing Vil is actually a challenge because I see him as that nagging mother but at the same time a distance-but-supportive older brother. Azul is also a challenge with portraying him as a mafia boss.


	94. Underwater Beginners! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon… Give me back my Dolphin-Cater and Nemo-Riddle…  
> Also, remember that one time Crowley said he would teach Jonah sword fighting?

Riddle had lost count of how many times he had brushed his teeth. He even did Trey's special brushing technique, but he could still taste the lingering taste of eel-slime. Scrunching his nose, he did a spit before using his mouthwash once again.

Though knowing that he had to go back to the sea again later felt like he shouldn't be harsh at his teeth if he needs to bite another eel.

Wiping his mouth with the towel, Riddle stepped out of his bathroom. Jonah was still in the same position as before. The towel was still over his head, sitting at the edge of his bed with a mug of tea in his hand. He was wearing Riddle's pajamas, which were just a bit too big for them. Even though Jonah said he didn't need to, Riddle insisted. He wouldn't allow his wearing that worn-out clothes again even it can be dry with quick magic. This was probably the only time that Riddle would allow someone to drink tea on the bed. That was against the Laws of the Queen of Heart.

"Aren't you going to drink that?" Riddle asked.

Jonah lifted his head and blinked slowly as if trying to process what Riddle just said. Riddle pointed at Jonah’s mug and the boy looked down at his hands again.

"Oh. I'll wait until it cools down," Jonah said, lifting his mug to blow the hot liquid.

Riddle sighed. The boy had been going in and out since they arrived, probably still tired and shocked from earlier. "You haven't dried your hair yet," Riddle said again. Riddle walked toward him and climbed onto the bed. Before Jonah could question him, Riddle already on his knees behind him. "Wait. Stay still." Riddle had his hands on the towel on Jonah's hair, squeezing his wet red hair, and ran the towel down until the end of his hair repeatedly.

"Ow!" Jonah winched.

Riddle immediately froze. "D-Did I pull too hard?"

"Don't worry about it." Jonah glanced back, smiling a bit for reassurance. Riddle nodded at him and continued to dry Jonah's hair. The smaller boy sighed. "We need to think of the next step," he muttered. "We need to make that mermaid potion as soon as possible though."

"I'll handle the potion-making," Riddle said. "We can make a big batch just in case we need to dive multiple times." He put the towel around Jonah's shoulders, so his clothes wouldn't get too wet from his hair. "Though we should also think about how to make you able to see them even if your counter curse is active."

"That's the thing," Jonah sighed. "I have no doubt Senior Vanrouge has the skill, however my curse is an unfinished one, which causes the counter curse to be unstable and temporary. Since my condition of not being able to see the twins is part of the counter curse's unstableness, I don't think we can do anything." He inwardly winced at himself. Though he knew sooner and later he would do a name drop and let Azul knew about it. It was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before he thinks or speaks about his extended allies. _He tried so hard to be ignorant, but this damn curse and this damn deal-!_

"That what are you going to do?" Riddle's question brought him back to reality. "You can't just go and fight them like a blind man."

Jonah bit his lip, staring at his reflection on his lukewarm drink. "I'll be honest," he sighed. "I don't know."

Riddle didn't like the tone of that. He didn't like that defeated and helpless tone in his voice. "Jonah?"

Jonah clutched his mug tighter. _He hated being confused. He hated unable to do anything. He hated being so goddamn useless-_

There was a knock from the door and both boys looked ahead to Trey peeking into the room. "Hey."

"Trey?" Riddle called back.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Trey asked again.

"Of course." Riddle climbed down the bed and walked toward the door. He gave Jonah a small smile before stepping out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Walk with me," Riddle said. Both of them walked down the hallway, away from the prefect's room. "So, how did it go?"

Trey dug into his pocket and took out a vial with grey liquid, smiling a bit at Riddle. "It was a success."

"Thanks for your hard work," said Riddle, nodding and smiling at him. "I still can't believe Senior Vil can make this in just a day."

"It does take a long time, but it's worth it." Trey gave the vial to Riddle. "All you need to do is to drink one vial and it'll turn you into a merfolk once you pass the mirror."

Riddle stared at the vial for a second before putting it in his pocket. "Okay. Are Cater and Jack already prepared?"

"Yes. They are waiting at the Mirror Chamber."

"Good." They've arrived at the front door of the dorm. "Can you make sure that Jonah doesn't follow us? Keep him here if you must. Or just be with him until we get back."

"Of course." The vice prefect nodded as the leader opened the door. "Be careful. A dark sea can be dangerous."

"We will." Riddle nodded, with that, he stepped out of the dorm. Trey sighed. The other vial of the potion still felt heavy in his pocket. Vil had given him more than several dives for the next two days. He needed to keep the potion safe from the anemones, Ace, Deuce, and Grim, even Jonah just to be safe.

Turning around he walked down the hallways until he froze when he turned the corner. Jonah was standing there, face filled with confusion with a wet towel on his head. His eyes darted to Trey's side before looking back at his face.

"Where is Senior Riddle?" he asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Trey turned to the hallway behind him, humming as if trying to think. "He went away," he said before turning back to Jonah. "He mentioned something about a… Potion recipe?"

Jonah frowned at him. "He went out without me?" he muttered, tone slightly annoyed. "I have to-"

He couldn't even take a step forward before Trey held him back with one arm. "Whoa. Hold on now." Trey quickly knelt in front of him with both hands on his shoulders. "There’s no need to be worried." "It’s just some potion-making."

"I have to help." Jonah grabbed Trey's arm, trying to pull it off his shoulder, but Trey's grip just tightened itself. "I can’t just stay here and do nothing."

"Okay, then." Trey nodded. "How about we think like this?" This time, he put a hand under Jonah's towel, rubbing his hair gently. "If you join in the potion-making, Azul would know, right? What if he tries to sabotage it or force you to knock everything down? Salacia potion is a very complex potion. We can’t risk any mistake."

Jonah's breath hitched. "Damn it…" he muttered, looking down at his shoeless feet. "But I…" He curled his fingers into fists, the frustration bubbling in his chest. "I just can’t stay here…"

Trey hummed. He stood up slowly and guided Jonah toward the kitchen. "Tell me how you feel," he said, hand on the smaller boy's back, rubbing it gently.

Jonah let out a tired sigh. "I hate this." His voice was soft, but Trey could hear him clearly. "I can’t see the Leech Twins when we dove earlier. I… I had to rely on Riddle and Jack to escape. How am I supposed to help when I can’t even see my enemies?" Jonah pressed his knuckles to his eyes, trying his best not to cry because of the frustration. Even his voice started to crack. "I feel so useless."

Trey hummed again. "I know how you feel."

Jonah blinked in surprise. He turned his head toward him. "You do?"

They arrived at the kitchen and Trey led to sit on the barstool. "Back when I was a kid," he started, walking toward the fridge and opened it to pick up a carton of milk. "Chen'nya and I took Riddle to have his very first strawberry tart. Che'nya was shocked that Riddle never had a tart before, so he just dragged us to my family bakery."

 _Oh, he remembered this._ Jonah folded his arms on top of the table as he watched Trey picked up a deep pot and poured the milk into it. "What happened?" Jonah asked.

Trey sighed, turning the stove in low heat. "I didn't do anything."

_"Riddle."_

_Trey watched as Riddle froze, nearly dropping the fork. The three children turned to the lady who was standing next to their table with fear. The woman was beautiful with red hair tied into a bun with two strands hung behind her ears and a heart-shaped ahoge on top of her head. Her deep blue stared coldly at him and the make-up on her face made her look more regal and frightening at the same time. She wore a red skirt and matching waistcoat, a ruffled white blouse, a red hat, and black gloves. In her hand, she was holding a parasol, tapping it to the floor impatiently._

_"M-Mama," Riddle squeaked. Glancing at Che'nya, he saw the boy's cat ears were folded down, his pupil wide, and back slightly arched. Trey himself felt even smaller despite being older by one year from the other two, but he didn't even dare to open his mouth._

_"Don't you think we have enough sweet today?" Madam Rosehearts asked in a monotone tone._

_Riddle looked down to his lap, fingers curling into fists. "I..."_

_"It's time to go home, Riddle." The order was clear._

_"Yes, mama." Riddle jumped off the table and his mother grabbed his hand. Trey could see Riddle winched in pain. She was holding him too hard._

_Madam Rosehearts looked at Trey and Che'nya once again before saying, "Excuse us, Children." She walked out of the bakery pulling his son who kept stumbling behind her. Trey looked out the window. Riddle managed to turn his head slightly at him and Trey could saw the tears falling down his cheeks._

_"Trey." Trey turned toward Che'nya. His voice was unusually small. "What's going to happen to Riddle?"_

_Trey just stared out the window again. Riddle and his mother were nowhere to be seen. Trey fell to his seat again, fist curled against the window. He just realized that he was trembling. He shouldn't be afraid. He was older, he should help Riddle, not leaving him like that._ He... He had to apologize to him. Apologize for unable to stand up from him. Maybe he could make another tart for him. Yeah. He can do that. He had to do that.

_The next morning, he stood in front of the Rosehearts' manor door with a box of strawberry tart in his hands. He rang the doorbell and stepped back, waiting anxiously for the door to be opened. He was actually hoping for Riddle to open it, but instead, it was his mother. Trey's smile slipped from the face and he felt his chest getting tighter._

_"Can I help you, child?" Riddle's mother asked._

_"Umm..." Trey cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up, trying to calm himself down. "Yes, Madam?" he squeaked. Gulping, he tried again with a steadier voice. "Is Riddle home? I need to speak to him."_

_"Oh, I'm sorry, dear." She shook her head. "But Riddle seems to be quite busy right now. Try to come back tomorrow."_

_She was about to close the door but Trey stepped forward, raising his voice slightly. "Please, ma'am!"_

_The woman turned to him again, glaring at his impoliteness. Trey stepped back, gulping again. "I... I need to talk to him."_

_The woman's brow creased. "Unfortunately, I can't, young man."_

_Trey tried to open his mouth to pretest again, but she raised her hand, silencing him. "I would suggest staying out of Riddle and my radar from now on," she said in a cold tone and Trey's yellow eyes widened. "Riddle doesn't need naughty children like you and that other boy in his friend circle. As his mother, I want the best for him. However, I see you as a bad influence on him."_

_Trey realized he was trembling. He wanted to run away but he was frozen in his spot, unable to do anything as the woman spoke her last command. "So, please, if you value Riddle's well-being, it would be in your best interest to stay away from here. Am I making myself clear?"_

_She didn't wait for his answer when she closed the door in front of his face. Trey didn't even realize that he was crying until he felt something flowed down his cheeks. Sniffling, he walked out the manor, thoughts running in his head. He shouldn't have taken Riddle out that day. He shouldn't have taken him to the bakery. He should've waited for another day to try that stupid strawberry tart. He was angry at himself. Now, he and Che'nya couldn't see Riddle anymore. Frustrated, he threw his tart to the road, not caring what would happen to it, and ran away crying._

"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I say more." Trey slid a cup of warm milk in front of Jonah as he leaned on the counter in front of the smaller boy. "What if I actually say something when Riddle was taken away that day or plead more just to see him one more time?" He sighed. "Looking back, sometimes I couldn't help but feel pretty useless back then."

"But you were just a kid," Jonah said. "It's normal for a kid to be afraid of adults."

"And it's not for us teens?" Trey asked back. "Even adults experience this devastating feeling at one point in their lives." He tried to lift the spirit by smiling a little. "There's no need to be ashamed for feeling useless or wondering what would happen if you can do it differently. It's part of life." Trey reached forward, giving Jonah's hand a small squeeze for reassurance. "It may hurt you, but in the end, the only thing that matters is how you respond to it. Would you keep wailing in your guilt or step out and try from a different angle?"

Jonah looked down at the hand and bit his lips. He knew Trey was right. Complaining about his situation would take him nowhere. He lifted his head and pulled out a small smile. "I'll try my best."

Trey could only nod at him. They knew this would be hard. But Jonah was right. They could try to go through these.

* * *

"Prefect Rosehearts."

"Headmaster?" Riddle stopped his track in front of the Mirror Chamber. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said, both hands on his cane in front of him. "I thought Heartsabyul has a curfew rule."

"I..." Riddle looked down, knowing that he was breaking his own dorm rule that he held so highly. He knew he was being a hypocrite right now, saying how he was always following the rules to a tee but breaking it tonight. But if he didn't do this, if he didn't break his own rule, they probably wouldn't have this kind of chance anymore.

The headmaster sighed. "I know you have your reason. So I won't count this as a violation."

Riddle lifted his head in surprise. "Pardon?"

Crowley stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly at him. "For I am gracious, I will ignore every rule violation that you or anyone do until Mister Argentum reaches his goal. Can I count on you to help him with everything you can?"

Riddle nodded firmly. "I will, headmaster."

"Good boy~" Crowley patted him on the shoulder as he chuckled. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's in Heartslabyul currently. He won't be coming because of some risk calculation."

"I see," Crowley hummed. "Well, then. You shouldn't waste any more time."

"Thank you, headmaster." Riddle bowed at Crowley before walking into the Mirror Chamber where Cater and Jack had already waited for him.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," he greeted them. Cater waved his hand at him while Jack gave him a nod. "You guys have your potions with you?" The three of them dug into their pocket and took out their vial of potion and opened the cork. Riddle nodded. "Alright, let’s do it on three. One, two... Three!"

All of them drank their potions at the same time. Jack scrunched his nose. "Ugh... It got a strong taste..."

"Blegh..." Cater stuck out his tongue, but didn't try to spit anything from his mouth. "I think that the taste of these magical potions should be improved, but why do the grown-ups act like it’s no problem at all...?"

Riddle coughed. "Effectiveness is more important than taste, you know?" Suddenly, he felt his chest tightening. "... What...?" He grabbed his shirt and he dropped his vial. "It’s suddenly getting hard to breathe..."

Jack's voice sounded like a dying puppy. "Does this mean that our lungs are starting to adjust...?"

"Crap, it’s really getting hard to breathe..." Cater grabbed his throat. "Let’s hurry and go to the sea!"

Jack stretched out his hand and touched the Dark Mirror, trying his best to chant despite his wheezing, " ** _[Oh, Dark Mirror on the wall]_**! **_[To the Coral Sea, guide us all]_**!"

The Dark Mirror rippled as once again as water poured out heavily from it and filled the room. The three of them could felt the pain in their stomach from the effect of the potion as if their inside tried to squirm around and change shape. Their body started to glow in green light from the tip of their shoes and upward to their hair. A giant water vortex suddenly appeared below them and it sucked the three screaming boys inside of it along with all the water.

The room was dry once again, without a single water drop on the floor. The only abnormal things left were the piles of clothes from where the three boys formerly stood.

* * *

"Pardon my intrusion."

Both Trey and Jonah turned toward the kitchen entrance. "Headmaster?" Jonah vocalized their surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Prefect Rosehearts that you are here so I came to visit." Crowley walked in, tipping their hat as a greeting. "How was your plan going?"

"We're..." Jonah bit his lips before continuing. "We're trying our best here."

"Alright." Crowley nodded. "I see you're currently aren't doing anything. How about I teach you a thing or two?"

"Eh?"

"Mister Clover." He turned to the Heartslabyul's Vice Prefect. "You wouldn't mind if we use the rose maze for a while?"

"Uh..." Trey looked at Jonah who shrugged at him, obviously confused as well. He turned to the headmaster but he could he how his eyes glowed with reassurance. Thus, he nodded. "Of course, headmaster."

"Wonderful~" Crowley spun his cane and turned around. "Come along now, boys~"

The walk to the rose maze was short. They arrived at the spot where Ace and Deuce dueled with Riddle back at the start of the semester. Trey stepped back from the headmaster and the others. He had guessed that this was between the boy and the headmaster.

"Since you don't have your sword with you. We can start with something simple." Tapping his cane to the ground twice, a small magic circle appeared next to Jonah's feet. From it, a very thin tree _\- bamboo, maybe? -_ appeared that reached Jonah's waist. As Crowley tapped the ground again, the bamboo was cut near the root. A white paper-like appeared from the cut part and rolled around the bottom part, making a place for the sword hilt.

Picking up the bamboo sword, Jonah stared at it weirdly. "A stick?" he looked up at Crowley with a raised eyebrow. "I can't hurt anyone with a stick."

"Are you trying to?" Crowley asked back, spinning his cane so he was holding it like a sword with one hand while the other one was folded behind his back.

Jonah winched. "Not really." Jonah held the sword horizontally in front of him with both hands.

Crowley nodded at him and Jonah took the bait. Stepping to the side, he suddenly ran toward the headmaster and swung down his sword. Crowley stepped aside. Jonah quickly switched to trying to stab him in the stomach. Crowley once again stepped aside, but his time he thrust his hand, pressing it to Jonah's chest, and push him back, hard. Jonah let out a yelp when he was thrown back, sword flying from his grip as his back hit the grass.

Trey winched. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time for him to watch the headmaster fight. Night Raven College was never tired of creating chaos even during his first year, but the headmaster never actually ever seen fighting. It was usually solved with some agreements or a duel between students. _So, this was the first time witnessing the headmaster's power. How strong he could be…_

"I know you can do better than that," Crowley said. "Try again."

Jonah let out a growl and picked up his sword. He didn't waste any time to get up and tried to slash Crowley's chest twice, but the headmaster easily stepped back. Jonah tried to stab him again, but Crowley grabbed his hands and pulled him forward. Jonah didn't expect Crowley to bring his knee to his stomach, forcing him to drop his sword in surprise. Jonah staggered back, but he tried to punch him in the face. Unfortunately, Crowley elbowed him on the chest. The headmaster didn't let the captain recover as he pushed him back hard. He stepped forward and brought the hilt on his cane to Jonah's back, the boy screamed as he fell. Jonah was gasping, hands and knees on the ground. He felt something cold under his chin, forcing him to lift his head, looking straight at the headmaster's face.

"And that's your head," Crowley said. "We don't want to lose anymore limb, do we?"

Jonah sighed. "No."

Crowley lowered his cane. "Let's start from the beginning then. Pick up your sword. I'll walk you through the forms."

Jonah nodded. He picked up his sword and stood next to Crowley. The headmaster stepped back behind the boy, both hands on his shoulders. "Ready position," he said. "Hold your sword forward with both hands."

Jonah nodded and did that, but Crowley pulled his arms back slightly so his elbows were slightly bent. "Not too far, but don't let your elbows so close to your body." Crowley then nudged Jinah's foot. "One foot forward, like you're about to run."

Jonah brought his right leg forward and bent his knees. Crowley hummed in satisfaction. He pulled Jonah's back slightly. "Don't slouch too much." Crowley then walked next to Jonah, holding his cane in a similar position. "Now, repeat after me, okay?" He brought the cane close to his face before swinging it down and pulled his right leg back. "One."

Jonah followed him, bringing his sword to his face before swinging it down and stepping back. "Not too hard now," Crowley tutted. Jonah hummed and tried again, this time Crowley nodded.

"And then." Crowley brought the cane up slightly again, before swinging it down again, this time slightly angling to the left as he pulled back his left leg. "Two."

Jonah followed him and it was slightly better than his first try. "Very good," Crowley said, and Jonah couldn't help but smile at him. "Let's do that again."

The boy nodded and both of them got into the first position. "One... Two..."

* * *

The once calm night sea was suddenly disturbed by a splash from three figures. Riddle was the first one to catch himself, coughing a little once he remembered that he could breathe underwater. He flicked his magical pen and muttered, " ** _[Lumos]_**." His gem flew in white light and he turned around to his companions. Much for his amazement, both of them had changed their appearances. None of them were wearing clothes, but it wasn't something that they would worry about. 

Cater hair still in the same style but his skin was silverish-pink with scales on his elbows, chest, back, and lower abdomen. Instead of legs, he had a reddish-pink tail with a pair of pink-and-white pectoral fins on his hips, a spiny dorsal fin on the back, and a wide caudal fin-tail.

Jack's skin was black except for his blue face and white hair with a light blue streak. His wolf ears were changed into a pair of ear-fin with the white web. All over his body sprouted out light blue needles and ended with a white webbed caudal fin-tail.

Riddle quickly examined himself. He had reddish-orange, scaly skin, and pointy ears. He had a spiny dorsal fin on his back, pectoral fins on his hips, the anal-fin on the front, and wide-long caudal-fin-tail. All of his fins were clear colored.

It was then Riddle realized their merfolk form was. Cater was a red-snapper, Jack was a sea urchin, and he was a freaking goldfish. _Floyd was right about his nicknames and he hated that fact with a fiery passion!_

"I can't believe this..." Jack looked down at his spiky body. "The potion works…" The grin on his face grew even broader. "Senior Vil is amazing!"

"We're mermen!" Cater laughed as he experimentally flipped his new fins and found himself propelled through the water. "If only I have my phone with me~"

"And announce our plan in the entire world?" Riddle crossed his arms in front of his chest. He tried to flip his fin, only ended up with him sinking upside down. "We're already breaking curfew, we don't need more exposure."

Cater raised both of his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. So, where are we going?"

Riddle turned to Jack. "You remember your path from this morning?"

Jack nodded. "Yes." He then flicked his wand, chanting, " ** _[Lumos]_**!" His gem flew like a makeshift flashlight. Shining the gem to the ocean floor, he spotted a rock with moss on one side. "Here. I just follow the moss. It was a safe path until I met up with you guys and the eels."

Riddle nodded at him. "Alright. Let's swim."

Swimming with fins was way harder than with legs, but they get the hang of it. Cater now was able to do some loop-de-loop while Jack finally didn't get any seaweed on his spike. Even Riddle had to admit that swimming like this was quite an experience especially that he felt like he could swim faster than with legs.

Troubles only came when they encountered some giant jellyfishes. "You don't think that they would attack us, right?" Cater asked out loud.

The jellyfishes didn't stop at all. In fact, it looked like they were aiming straight at them. "Only one way to find out."

Riddle clicked his tongue. He held his magical pen tighter. "Prepare your spells!"

The jellyfishes, if you could call them one, extended their spindly legs out, reared back, and then spun around wildly, propelling themselves forward through the water and attacking at the same time. Riddle and the other simply swim away.

"I don't think they are ordinary jellyfish!" Cater shouted, avoiding the jellyfishes. He pointed his magical pen at one of them. " ** _[Stupefy]_**!" He managed to fling one of them, but the other one kept swimming at him.

"Senior, duck!" Jack yelled. Cater dove and Jack pointed at the jellyfish. " ** _[Reducto]_**!" Magic shot out from his pen and hit the jellyfish, blasted their enemies into slimy pink pieces.

Riddle pointed at the seaweed on the bottom, waving his hand as they extended like tentacles, and grabbed the two jellyfishes swimming toward him, squeezing them until they burst into pink slime.

Jack blasted of the last jellyfish. "That's weird," he muttered. "It wasn't like this earlier."

Cater sighed. "Maybe they are nocturnal creatures?" he suggested. "But then again. Jellyfishes don't just explode in slime like that."

Riddle tapped his chin. _It was as if they were waiting for them..._ "Keep a lookout for anything like that," he said. "We don't anything else that might be waiting for us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disney, where is my mermaid transformation? How can you miss this perfect opportunity?! Do you really think I’m going to pass on using Floyd’s nickname as a plot point?  
> I actually made a list of some possible tails for the boys, but then I remember about Floyd's nicknames, and I was like: "This could be funny~"  
> Some appearance was inspired by some arts from DeviantArt. I'll link it in my Tumblr's note.  
> Also, that flashback scene with Trey was supposed to be in The Crimson Tyrant but I never find a place to input it without making it flow awkwardly. I’m so happy I can finally write it smoothly. Supportive Dad (or Mom) Trey is the best Trey.


	95. Cunning Yet Mellow! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to run out of idea for the underwater adventure...

_“Calm down, Riddle!” Trey was holding Riddle, pulling him back kicking and screaming from the front door._

_“No!” Riddle screamed, trying to get off from Trey’s hold. “Azul had gone too far! I’m going to-”_

_“You are not doing anything yet!” Trey looked back, grateful that they finally reached Riddle’s room again. Quickly opening the door, Trey threw Riddle in and quickly locked the door behind him. Before Riddle could protest again, Trey knelt, gripping his shoulders._

_“Listen to me.” Trey shook his shoulder. “Riddle, listen to me!”_

_Riddle gripped Trey’s hands. “Trey-”_

_“You can make this worse,” Trey quickly said. Riddle let out a small gasp, not really expecting something like that would come out from Trey’s mouth. Trey sighed, taking this small chance of silence. “Azul is basically in control of Jonah’s action. If we mess with Azul, who knows what will happen to Jonah. There will be possibilities of him lashing out at Jonah because of our actions.”_

_Riddle’s breathing calmed down, letting it sink in._ That’s right. He couldn’t be reckless or else Jonah might suffer the consequences.

_The buzzing of a phone snapped him back to reality. Trey reached out for his phone in his pocket and saw that Jack just sent him a message, telling him that he had an idea._

“That’s not going to work.”

“Working so far!”

Trey looked up as Jonah swung down his sword but Crowley leaned away from getting hit. Compare to Jonah who mostly just offensive and rather stiff in his movement, Crowley moved very fluidly, spinning and hopping, managing to avoid every attack from a boy and never actually fight back, all defensive mode. Jonah jumped again, but Crowley stepped away, twisting his body so he was behind the boy. Jonah clicked his tongue as Crowley skipped backward. Taking his chance, Jonah turned around and swung his sword above his head, jumping into the air, and brought his sword down with a scream. But once again, Crowley stepped away. Jonah's eyes widened as he came crashing down, face planted on the grass and his sword slipped out from his grip. Jonah let out a grunt and quickly picking up his sword again and turned around–

–Only for him to scoot back at the cane pointed at him.

“Don’t be overcommitted in trying to beating your enemies,” Crowley said. “You need to find the perfect pacing of attacking and defending. Too much on one side will lead you to early exhaustion.”

Jonah sighed. “Alright.” He got up from the grass and stretched his muscle, unable to hold back a yawn.

“How about we stop practicing for tonight?” Crowley spun his cane, tapping it to the ground and hold it like usual. “Are you planning to stay here for the night, Mister Argentum?”

Jonah turned to Trey. “Did Riddle mention that I can stay here?”

Trey had his thumb and index finger on his chin. “He would probably let you. But unfortunately, we don’t have any free room since our dorm hasn’t had any expelled students.”

Jonah nodded at him. “That’s okay. I’ll just go back to my room.”

Crowley walked up to them and stood behind Jonah with a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take you back to the tower.” He offered the bamboo sword to the smaller boy. “You can keep this. Even if it’s not as sharp as your usual sword, but keep for our next practice.”

Jonah took the sword and looked up to the headmaster. “When are we going to use a real sword?”

Crowley chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Practice first. We don’t want you accidentally cut someone else’s hand.”

Jonah shook his head. “Fine…” he sighed, but there wasn’t any malice in his tone. “We’ll do it your way.” HE turned back to Trey, offering his hand. “Thanks for today. I really need that talk.”

Trey smiled, grasping Jonah’s hand in his own and gave him a small handshake. “You’re welcome. I’ll let Riddle.”

_Hopefully, the three of them were doing fine in the ocean…_

* * *

_The diving team wasn’t doing fine in the ocean. Like, at all._

“They are worse than ever!” Cater shot a whirlwind toward their newest enemies, green-colored barracuda with teeth that can crush through bones. He gripped his upper arm which had some reddening scratches. He chanted a quick healing spell on himself before any blood seeped out.

"Yeah," said Jack, pulling back from the avalanche rock that he cast. “It's almost like they can't wait to get rid of us.”

“ ** _[REDUCTO]_**!” Riddle frowned, watching the last barracuda erupted into green bubbles. “They were set just for us.” He gripped his magical pen hard as he gritted his teeth. “Azul must've done something about this.”

“But that can’t be, right?” Cater pitched in, swimming to join the other two. “You guys didn’t meet him earlier, right? There’s no way he has the skill to change the environment.”

“But then again, he has more than 200 students’ powers from the contract,” Jack said. “Even if he has that power, it still didn’t make any sense.”

Riddle sighed. “We’ll figure this out later.” He turned to the sea-urchin. “Jack. Where to?”

Jack nodded. He pointed his magical pen at the right. “I went-”

He paused. Riddle and Cater looked to the right. _How come they never noticed the wall next to them?_ The only path through the wall as the cavern hole.

“This can’t be right,” Jack muttered. “It wasn’t here earlier.”

“Are you sure?” Riddle asked.

Jack nodded. “I didn’t go through any cavern.” He looked to the wall. It was quite tall. “There was no way I didn’t notice this.”

“Should we take the risk and go in?” Cater asked, looking at the both of them.

Riddle sighed. “We don’t have much choice. Let’s go.”

Entering the cave, they were greeted by a wall of fast-moving, swirling bubbles. The three of them could feel the current was pulling them in. “I take it back!” Riddle screamed. “Get out! Get out!”

None of them protested. The three mermen tried to swim away but the current was too strong for them, pulling them into the vortex. Their screams were muffled by the powerful ocean current. They were being swept around like a ragdoll among the swirling water and a large mass of bubbles hitting their face. They tumbled head over tail down the narrow tunnel and they frantically reached out around him in search of something to grab onto.

Then it felt like they were being spitted out of a whale blowhole. Riddle suddenly found himself hurtling uncontrollably into a patch of seaweed and moss growing on the stone wall. The plants cushioned the collision with the wall, though Riddle still wound up pressed upside-down against it. The force of the current and the roaring in his ears diminished and everything suddenly seemed very quiet. Disoriented and dizzy, Riddle tried to look around him and regain a sense of himself as he slid slowly down the stone.

“Riddle! Are you okay?”

“Wh-What…?”

He saw a pair of blurry hands reached toward him and pull him back into an upright position, while the other pair untangled long strips of seaweed wrapped around his torso. Riddle shut his eyes tightly for a moment, vigorously shook off his dizziness, and then looked around him again with his eyes properly focused.

He found himself looking up into the faces of Jack with Cater holding him steady. "You okay?" asked Jack. "That looked pretty bad."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, but... What just happened?"

“The current threw us somewhere,” Cater said. “We… We don’t know where unfortunately.”

Jack hummed as he saw ahead from them with his glowing magical pen aimed toward the ocean floor for some recognizable clue. Riddle let out a groan as he massaged his temple. “Ugh, great,” he muttered. “Now, we’re lost.”

“Don’t worry, Riddle,” Cater tried to cheer him up. “I’m sure we can’t be that far from the museum.”

“Actually…” Riddle and Cater looked up to Jack. His brow was ceased and he was growling, whether because of anger or just plain annoyance. “We are way too far from the museum.” Cater and Riddle looked down at where Jack’s magical pen was aiming. Their eyes widened in shock.

It was the same rock with the moss on one side.

_They were back at the beginning._

* * *

"So, even if you managed to scout the area, you still can't even reach the museum?"

Jack groaned, leaning against the wall as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I swear the path was clear in the morning," he said. "Senior Riddle had a suspicion that Senior Azul might manipulate the environment. But we can't be sure."

Leona sat on his bed, elbow on his knee and chin resting on his folded knuckle. "You have seen Azul's _unique magic_ , right?” Leona asked, to which Jack nodded. “As long as someone signs a deal with _'It’s a Deal'_ , Azul’ll be able to confiscate one of the target’s magic. And if in the worst-case scenario, the target doesn’t fulfill the conditions, he is bound to work under Azul indefinitely."

"You gotta admit that he’s pretty amazing because the difficult conditions require skillful magic, even if it's still super shady," Ruggie said from the floor as he grabbed another of Leona’s used clothes to fold.

"The confiscated magic is kept inside the contract and Azul can use it anytime,” Leona continued. “I don't doubt that Azul stole a power that can change the area and set traps for you guys."

Jack growled at this, annoyed knowing that Azul was so powerful yet at the same time felt like they were being tricked. He had all those power from stealing from those gullible students who signed the contract, which made him a fraud to some degree.

"Well, now that you know that scouting more would be useless with the whole probabilities of Azul's changing the area again, what is your plan now?" Leona asked again, gaining Jack’s attention back.

"Well, Jonah would definitely want to dive again tomorrow since he's convinced that we are making the potion tonight," the wolf-boy answered.

"He’s trying his best to play stupid, I see," Leona muttered. He looked up to Jack, staring at him seriously. "If you keep on like this, your movement will be too predictable for Azul. He will definitely find a way to delay you from getting that picture. Remember, you only have two more days."

Jack nodded. "Well, what are you suggesting?"

Leona hummed for a bit as if he was thinking. But Ruggie knew that look on his face. Leona had already had an idea for a long time. "I say you still keep doing your plan of diving in. Now that you have a tail, you might have a tiny chance you can get away from the twins," the prefect started. "But, as back-up, you can think of a way to break that special contract first."

Jack blinked in confusion. "Breaking the contract?"

"There is no such thing as an 'unbreakable contract',” Leona added. “Even that Red Prince's unique magic may look invincible, but it’s really not."

Leona nodded at him, already did his part in giving his hint. Jack looked down to his feet, trying to piece together the information they had. _There is no way Azul’s magic is all that powerful… There has to be a weakness… But they don’t know…_

_Wait…_

Jack looked up at his senior again. “Are you saying that instead of going against the Leech Brothers under the sea again, it would be better for us to go look for the contract's weakness?”

Leona's lips curled up into a smirk. “You’ve finally used your brain.”

Jack frowned at him. “But, isn't that a bit like cheating…?"

Ruggie groaned at this. "Listen here, Jack.” He got up from the floor and stood next to Jack, shaking his head disappointedly as he patted the wolf-boy’s back. “We really appreciate you're being honest and all, but the way things are, you don’t even stand a chance against Azul above ground."

Jack's ears went down. "That's..."

Leona laughed at Jack's innocent mind. "In the first place, knowing that those guys take advantage of clueless people means that they're evil in all sense of the word. There’s no reason for you to hold back at all. It doesn’t matter if it’s cheating or if it’s outside what you agreed on. It’s your win as long as you nullify the contract."

Ruggie snickered. "Whew~ That’s our Leona! You’re bad to the bone!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at his smirking prefect. “You really haven’t repented, have you?”

"At a time like this, do you really want to think about morals?” Leona continued. “Beside. I do not doubt that Riddle will agree with anything knowing his crush's freedom is on the line."

* * *

“That’s what he said.” Trey showed the phone screen with Jack’s message on it, telling them about the idea to find the weakness of the contract while the others dive in once again. Trey looked at the other four Heartslabyul members and one demon-cat on the table. “I have to admit, this is a pretty good plan.”

Grim gripped the fur on top of his head harshly. “Argh! I still can’t believe that Azul tricked us into thinking the contract.”

“This is why you got scammed easily,” Riddle huffed. “But I agree with Senior Leona here. It’s better if we can find a way to destroy the contract as a second plan. If we can destroy them tomorrow, then we don’t need to go back to the sea on the third day.” He tapped his chin, thinking. “But we need to know where Azul keeps it.”

“I think I know,” Ace spoke up, making everyone to turn toward him. “He keeps it in a giant safe behind his desk. I’ve seen him open it. Oh!” He perked up and snapped his fingers. “And he also has this book.”

Riddle raised an eyebrow at him. “A book?”

“Yeah. He keeps it in the safe too.”

“Do you know what’s inside?”

Ace, unfortunately, shook his head. “I didn’t get a good look at it. But I think he was just doodling.”

“It might be important…” Riddle hummed. He nodded to himself. Right. _Better safe than sorry._ He stood up from the couch, looking at the gang one by one with serious looks. “Okay. Here’s the plan.” He first pointed at the orange-haired senior. “Cater. You, Jack, and Jonah will dive once again to try and get the picture.” Cater gave him a two-finger salute, then Riddle turned to point at his vice prefect. “Trey. You will join Ace, Deuce, and Grim in finding those contracts.”

“Question.” Deuce raised his hand. “How are we going to do that if Azul’s watching us?”

“You can do it in the afternoon,” Riddle explained. “Tomorrow after school, the prefect will have one last meeting before winter break, so Azul will be away from Mostro Lounge at least for two hours. In the meantime, the four of you can sneak in there.” Deuce replied to them with nods of understanding, so Riddle continued, “Plus, classes are only for half-day and aren’t mandatory in this last week, so Cater’s team can dive early, then I’ll give the signal from the prefect meeting for Trey’s team to move. Any question?”

Everyone shook their head and Riddle nodded at them, satisfied with their answer. “Great. Get some sleep. We need all the energy we can get.”

_Don’t worry, Jonah. We have this under control…_

* * *

Kalim didn’t like the aura surrounding the current prefect meeting. It felt so cold and deadly. Some things that he noticed were Azul was smiling a bit too much, humming some tune that Kalim didn’t recognize. Riddle kept staring at the Octavinelle Prefect, glaring like he was thinking about murdering him. Leona had his eyes closed, probably taking a nap before the headmaster arrived, but his ears were up and tail wagging lazily, prepare for sudden danger. Vil was on his phone but occasionally he glanced between Azul, Riddle, and Leona. Malleus wasn’t here ( _dang it, did they forget to invite him again?_ ), but Lilia was there in his place, but even the fae was watching them with sharp eyes. Seriously, the atmosphere was very unpleasant that Kalim had to sit closer to Idia’s table.

“Hey,” he whispered to the device. “Is it just me or does everyone want to kill each other?”

“It does look like everyone is waiting for the battle royale countdown,” Idia answered. “It’s very tense.”

“I know, right?” Kalim whispered back. “Weird. What is wrong with everyone?”

Just then, the door to the Mirror Chamber was opened and Crowley stepped in. He must’ve noticed the downer atmosphere when he glanced at the prefects there. He cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention. Crowley stepped to the front of the prefects. “All the prefects are here, I gather?”

Vil turned off his phone, looked around, and his gaze stopped at Lilia. “Seems like Malleus isn’t here are usual?”

“I apologize,” Lilia nodded at them. “I had seen him right during the break. And yet, he vanished as anon as the place of learning cashiered.”

“Maybe he did it on purpose?” Idia spoke up.

Lilia tried his best not to look offended or even pout. “Don't say things like that. Us faes are some few bit divers from thou humans.” He sighed. “Moreover, his terrible luck is quite bothersome.”

Kalim laughed. “I feel you! I completely forget about meetings sometimes that Jamil has to remind me about them.”

Lilia gave Kalim a warm smile, the turned toward the rest of the prefect. “So, please, allow this humble vice prefect to attend 'i his place.”

“And what about the other missing person?” Azul spoke up and the temperature suddenly felt too cold for Kalim. “It would be a shame that Mister Argentum miss this important meeting.”

“He had some business to attend,” Riddle said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at Azul. “And I don’t see you complain about him not attending the meeting two weeks ago.”

Leona huffed a laugh, giving Azul a sideways glance. “Do you miss him that much, Octo Punk?”

The corner of Azul’s eye twitched. “Oh, please, Mister Kingscholar,” he said with a mocking smile. “I’m just worried that Mister Argentum is ignoring his duty as prefect. Even though he doesn’t have any member besides that nuisance of a cat, he's still counted as one of us.”

Riddle clenched his fist. He was about to stand up, ready to have a debate with Azul until he could rip that smile off his face, but the door to the Mirror Chamber was being opened once again and a familiar voice was heard.

Between all of them, Riddle and Leona had the most shock at the turn of the event.

“Please, Ashengrotto. Hold back your tongue.” The prefect of the Ramshackle Dorm stepped in, wearing his proud captain outfit of a dorm uniform. “I’m here. Are you happy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The planning continues once again. I hope you guys can catch up with the whole planning from all sides.  
> In conclusion, for the next chapter we have: prefect meeting team (Riddle and Jonah), contract stealing team (Ace, Deuce, Grim, and Trey), and diving team (Cater and Jack)


	96. Evil Consensus! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone order a very early Pomefiore Arc with a dash of kidnapping?

**Dawn of the Second Day - Wednesday, 8th December**

* * *

“Jonah?!” Riddle stood up from his seat with eyes widened. Even Leona turned toward the approaching captain. Azul hid his smirk behind his hand. Vil and Lilia remained silent but were slightly confused by the situation. Meanwhile, Kalim and Idia were utterly out of the loop, not even understanding what was going on. Crowley watched the boy, slightly concern but had an understanding look, very easily connecting the dot. _It appears that Mister Rosehearts has failed in last night's trial._

“What are you doing here?” Riddle tried again.

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him, trying to look as relaxed as possible. “Am I not welcome here?” he asked back. “I am a fellow prefect after all.”

“That's true but-”

“Oya, Mister Riddle. You seem troubled.” Azul stood from his seat, still smiling at the two boys. “Is there something wrong with Mister Argentum joining us?”

Riddle clenched his fist as he turned to glare at Azul. “Nothing that you wouldn't know, Azul.”

“Oh my.” The Octavinalle Prefect pushed his glasses up his nose. “Such hostility.”

Leona rolled his eyes. “Oi. We're not here to watch your petty threesome.” He turned toward the headmaster. “Just start the meeting.”

Crowley didn't look offended or surprise for once from Leona's demand. “Right.” He cleared his throat and turned his head toward Jonah. “We are glad for you to join us, Mister Argentum.” 

“The pleasure is mine, headmaster.” Jonah nodded as he took a seat next to Riddle.

Riddle leaned closer to him. “I thought you're going to dive,” he whispered.

Jonah was trying his best not to pout as he only looked at the headmaster talking but never really listening. He knew Azul was watching him and knew about his unfortunate situation. _Surely he would find this amusing._ “I was,” he muttered. “But apparently I can't drink the potion.”

“What?”

_“You managed to finish it in one night?” Jonah stared at the vial filled with grey liquid. It didn’t look pleasant to drink at all. Opening the cork and taking a sniff, Jonah nearly gagged at the horrid smell._

_“Yep. We did a great job~!” Cater said with a thumb up. “Just one vial and we're off to be mermen.”_

_Jonah huffed._ If this liquid was their only chance to actually surviving underwater, he would take the risk. _“Alright,” he nodded, looking at Cater and Jack who just opened their vial. “Let's do this. On three. One. Two... Three.”_

 _The three of them gulped the potion at the same time. Jonah gagged, his hand flew to his mouth._ The taste was HORRIBLE. _He didn’t know if he was just being a baby or his stomach really couldn’t digest the drug._

_“Jonah?!”_

_Jonah fell to his knees, pulling back his hand from his mouth just as he spilled the contents of his breakfast onto the floor._

_“Hey, hey.” He felt Jack’s hand patting his back gently. “Are you okay?”_

_“I'm...” Jonah gagged again but didn’t vomit this time. “Sorry.”_

_“Are you not feeling well?” Jack asked again._

_“I was fine earlier.” He wiped his mouth with the sleeves of his shirt the turned to Jack. It was then he realized that Jack looked like he was out of breath, Behind him, Cater was clutching his chest a bit too harshly. “Are you fine?”_

_“It does taste bad,” Cater panted. “But we're fine overall.”_

_“Sorry, Jonah. We have to dive now.” Jack stood up. “Our lung is adjusting to breathing underwater. Y-You should stay back for now.”_

_“But-”_

_“Sorry. We have to go now.” Cater added quickly. He reached for the Dark Mirror and chanted, “_ **[Magic Mirror, obey me]** _._ **[Take us to the Coral Sea]** _.”_

_The mirror rippled and the glass turned as blue as the ocean. The water swirled heavily like a vortex, pulling the water in the air surrounding them. Jonah watched as Cater and Jack's body slowly turned into a stream of water, being suck into the mirror, leaving their clothes and belongings on the ground. The mirror rippled once again once it had its target, leaving Jonah alone, clenching his fist, and slamming it to the ground in frustration._

“They just ditched me like that,” Jonah grumbled. “I'm the one who is supposed to get the photo, but here I am, on the sideline, once again.”

Riddle frowned at him. “I think we need some clarification with the headmaster about your condition,” he said, wanting to reach for him for just a simple pat on the shoulder. “Because-”

“Prefect Rosehearts?”

Riddle pulled his hand back and turned toward the headmaster. “Yes?”

“Can you please share the current progress of the upcoming joint cultural festival?”

“Oh. Of course.” Riddle cleared his throat and stoop up, carrying his document to the front of the prefects. “Everyone. Please look at the blackboard here.” He picked up a chalk and started to write as he explained, “So far, we have planned to have some booths open for students who want to showcase their talents. Food and craft, possibly a live painting or indie movies if anyone wants to apply.”

“Whoa~!” Kalim cheered. “They all sound exciting and fun!”

“The next item on the agenda is about the stage where we'll have the research presentation and speech contest,” Riddle continued. “The plan is to set up three separate stages around the campus. The courtyard will be for the red stage, the gymnasium will be for the blue stage, while the largest– the coliseum will be for the purple stage. In particular, we plan for the Vocal & Dance Championship to be held in the purple stage since we're pretty sure that it will gain a lot of media attention.”

He turned back facing the prefect once again. “Once we get the permission, we'll announce the application for the contest to all Night Raven College and then to the other school during Winter Break, while the Vocal & Dance Championship application will be announced once the second semester started. Any question so far?”

None of them responded so Riddle took this as a ‘no’. “Alright. Next thing…”

Throughout the meeting, Azul kept looking watching the captain who just refused to look at him. His mind was filled with his plan to consult about his inability to drink that salacia potion (which Azul was also curious of where and when did Riddle brew it) and then waited for Cater Diamond and Jack Howl to return from the sea. Azul shook his head, amused. The captain played well so far, being ignorant of the other plan and sticking with the most obvious one, but even without the mind-reading Azul knew Jonah was curious about the backup plans and the frustration of not knowing.

Azul knew he was stalling the time for the rest of the team from getting the photo except Jonah himself. The trap he had laid on every corner except the path that Jonah took worked perfectly. He had found some smudges on the doodles he made when he checked it this morning, showing that someone was caught in there. Even without sending the twins there, he managed to stop their night ambush.

He had no doubt that the rest of the gang were planning something during the time of this prefect meeting. But he had been prepared.

He would never leave his lair unattended after all.

* * *

“The meeting had started.” Trey tucked his phone back into his pocket as he turned to Ace and Grim. Both of them were standing on the side of the Octavinelle dormitories and found out that there was a shortcut that would lead them closer to the boss’ office. “This is our chance to infiltrate Mostro Lounge.”

Ace bit his lip, holding his arms tight as he tapped his foot anxiously. “I'm kinda worried about Deuce, though,” he muttered. “Floyd just pulled him aside when we arrived. I haven't seen him since then.”

“Hey.” Trey pat him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring gaze. “We don’t know whether Deuce is still at Octavinelle or not. But we’ll try to find him after this mission, okay?”

Ace bit his lip again but eventually nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get those contracts.”

The three of them went through the hallway, trying to walk casually as possible to avoid any suspicious stare from the passing students. Eventually, they heard the jazzy tune behind the door at the end of the hallway. Trey opened the door, and surely enough, it led them to Mostro Lounge. And the door to the boss’ office is just a few steps from where they are standing.

Grim was the first one to arrive at the door with a golden handle. Twisting it, he found out that he couldn’t open it. “It's locked.”

Trey reached for the handle and twisted it. There weren’t any magical feels on it, so it was just manually locked. Taking out his magical pen, he tapped the handle as he chanted, “ ** _[Alohomora]_**.”

The sound of a door unlocked was heard. Trey twisted the handle again. This time, he could open the door. The three of them quickly got into the office, closing the door gently behind them. Surely enough, the giant safe door Ace mentioned was spotted behind the desk. The three of them ran toward it. Trey caressed the wheel of the safe. He clicked his tongue. “This one has a barrier on the keyhole,” he said, pulling his hand back. “Can't be open by unlocking charm.”

“No worries,” Ace said. “I got this.” The ginger-haired boy shoved his hand into his pocket and took out a key. Ace inserted the key into the keyhole and gave a single twist. The sound of the safe turning and unlocking was heard.

“How did you get that key?!” Grim exclaimed. “Did you stole that from Azul?!”

“Nope.” Ace grinned. “I used _gemino_ charm to duplicate the real key when I got a hold on it for a few seconds.”

“Step aside for a second there.” Trey reached for the safe door and opened it once Ace and Grim were out of the way. The three of them gasped when they saw what was inside of it.

“Whoa...” Grim flew into the safe, examining the seemingly glowing golden contracts. “Look at all these papers...”

“Ah!” Ace pointed at the corner of the safe where a book was sticking out like a sore thumb between all the contracts. “That's the book Azul was doodling on.” Ace reached for the book. “Let me just...”

“Let’s try and see if we can destroy it, hurry~” Grim hummed as he reached for one of the contracts-

Screams erupted from the cat and boy’s mouth as electricity coursed through their body. Ace and Grim’s face scrunched up in pain and their body couldn’t stop twitching. Once the sudden shock attack had stopped, the two of them collapsed to the floor, eyes closed, and still shuddering.

“ACE?! GRIM?!” Trey knelt next to the two of them, magical pen already prepared to heal them, but a familiar sinister chuckle stopped him because _how could he be here-_

“Oya? Was it really such a shock?”

Trey didn’t get a chance to fully turn his head when he was hit by a spell, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

Cater and Jack dove into the same spot, changing into their merform once again. “Hey, Jack,” Cater called out to the sea urchin. “You know which way Riddle went yesterday?”

“The opposite of me. Why?”

“Just a thought,” Cater shrugged swimming to the opposite side of the path they went to last night. “If the path from last night hasn't returned to normal, we'll be wasting our time if we go through there again.” He turned back to Jack. “What if we try to take Riddle's path for now? Maybe we can reach the museum faster.”

Jack hummed, tapping his chin as he thought about it. He nodded. “Okay. We'll do that.”

Like what Cater had said, the path was surprisingly peaceful. No giant jellyfish, no toxic barracuda, no whirlpool that would take them back to the start, _absolutely nothing_. Jack would need to tell Trey and Riddle about the path for tomorrow. 

“You know.” Jack turned to Cater who was swimming lower, his back nearly touching the sand bellow, and his hands folded behind his head. “If things got better we should try this again. You don't get to swim this much back home.”

Jack would have to agree with that. “Land of Pyroxene does have colder air than other places. My siblings love to play in the snow though.”

“That must be fun... Having a sibling who loves you dearly...” Cater hummed, but his smile didn’t look happy. It was almost… _Melancholic._

“What about you?”

“My sisters are rather annoying.” The older boy shrugged again. “Being the only son comes with great responsibility. I barely had time for myself back home.” He stretched his muscle and faked a yawn. “So many chores...” He sighed. “I'm just glad I only meet them during the winter holiday.”

Jack frowned. “You don't have a good relationship with them?”

Cater once again just shrugged. “Can't really do anything about that...”

The swim was silent once again. A few minutes later, Jack recognized the place. This was where he saw Riddle and Jonah got cornered by the Leech Twins. _They were so close. Just a few meters to go-_

A long shadow swam passed them-

Jack grabbed Cater's upper arm, stopping him as his eyes darted in every direction. “Wait.”

“Ahahahahahaha!” The annoying laughed was heard behind them and the two mermen turned around. Floyd Leech floated there with his usual goofy smile. “Welcome back, Sea Urchin!”

Jack growled. “Floyd!”

“Eh~ You brought Snapper with you!” He laughed. “How fun~ I brought a friend with me too~” He wiggled his index finger as if he was calling someone from behind the rock. “Come on here, Mackerel!”

They heard a familiar grunt and a figure emerged. The merman was bluish-grey with darker stripes on his backside from neck to the tip of his tail. He had downward ear-fins, a pair on his elbows, and a pair on his hips. What made him very recognizable was the large black patch shaped like a spade on his left eye.

“Deuce?!” Cater exclaimed. _What was he doing here?_

“Wait.” Jack’s eyes darted around once again, unable to find something… _Or someone._ He focused back on Floyd. “Where is your brother?”

“You really think that only because we are twins we would always stick together?” Floyd laughed, hands on his stomach. “You guys are so dumb!” Floyd swam around Deuce and the poor mackerel held himself closer so he wouldn’t get touched by the eel. “Hey, hey. Let's play then~” Floyd stopped behind Deuce and grabbed the boy’s anemone, giving it a light tug but still managed to made him winched. “Oi Mackarel. You know what will happen if you don't take this seriously.”

Deuce curled his fist, trembling. “Damn it.”

“Deuce, no!” Cater tried as Jack swam in front of him to protect him.

“I'm really sorry about this,” Deuce said as he took off. For a first-timer, Deuce was surprisingly fast and agile underwater, launching toward Cater and Jack like a torpedo. Jack and Cater barely managed to avoid him by swimming away. Floyd laughed, spinning his magical pen in his hand. “I’ll squeeze your necks one at a time, okay~?”

Jack growled at the eel. “Senior, get ready!”

“Argh! Fine!” Cater whined, taking his magical pen that he tucked behind his ear.

_And thus the game of tag had begun again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to posted this yesterday, but the night before I had to help my mom with her office job, so both of use didn't sleep at all. When I finished Trey's part I was like: "Nope. I need sleep."
> 
> About the prefect meeting, the main reason it happens now is that once we start the second semester, we can immediately start the audition and we can fill the one-month gap of training and have the festival on valentine's day. Also, if Vil does overblot before the VDC, we can use the Happy Bean Day event as an extended therapy arc.
> 
> And to the other stuff. Yep, we’re separating Floyd and Jade, the Stealing Team is whumped, Deuce is a mermaid too, Jonah’s body doesn’t like potions, and Cater's family situations. So many plot points to be solved...


	97. Electric Conspiracy! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AZUL: Come to the Dark Side, Riddle Rosehearts! I have your captain’s freedom!

The prefect meeting had concluded for a long time, but Riddle and Jonah stayed behind in the Mirror Chamber, staring at the Dark Mirror, waiting for a sign it was rippling. "How long do you think it'll take them to come back?" Jonah asked, hands scrunching in the clothes folded in his lap.

"Who knows?" Riddle sighed. "Hopefully they don't get too much trouble."

"What are you two gentlemen talking about?"

Riddle stood up, standing between Jonah and the approaching Octavinelle Prefect. "What do you want, Azul?"

"What's wrong? Can't I just greet a fellow prefect?" Azul shook his head in a disappointed manner. But then, his gaze turned to Jonah. "Oh, Mister Argentum, you wouldn't mind if I borrow Mister Rosehearts for a while?"

Jonah shot up from his seat and reached for his cutlass on his belt, even though Riddle was still in front of him. "What do you want from him?"

"There's no problem." Azul tapped his cane and Riddle noticed the way his gem glowed. "Didn't you think that you want to go to the nurse about your condition?"

He heard Jonah gasped behind him. "I..."

"Run along, then." The Octavinelle Prefect smirked. "And don't even think of following us."

Jonah let out a grunt and his hand slipped away from the hilt of his sword. "Fine."

Without even looking up, Jonah picked up Cater and Jack's clothes and walked away from the Mirror Chamber, closing the door behind him. Riddle's grip on his magical pen became tighter. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Azul chuckled, stepping aside and slung his arm over Riddle's shoulder. "I just gave him an order and he follows what I command. He partially doesn't have his free-will, after all." He started to walk, bringing Riddle with him toward the door. "Now, Mister Rosehearts. It has been a long time since we talked with each other. Our last meeting was rather..." He snapped his fingers, trying to find a good word to describe it. In the end, he settled with. "Unpleasant."

Riddle rolled his eyes and pulled himself away from Azul's one-sided hug. "I'm not interested in your petty talk." He started to walk ahead and opened the door. "If you excuse me..."

"Oh, I think you might want to listen to me," Azul said when Riddle was already one step out of the chamber. But then, Azul said, "Or else something might happen to your vice prefect."

Riddle stopped. His eyes widened as he turned around. "What did you do to Trey?!"

Azul chuckled, once again slinging his arm around Riddle's shoulder and pulling him closer. "Why don't you come and see?"

Riddle wanted to blast him away. He really did. But, Azul somehow got Trey, and possibly the trio as well. The Heartslabyul Prefect sighed and nodded.

Azul just smirked, knowing that he had his pieces come together.

* * *

" ** _[Expelliarmus]_**!" Deuce shot a spell, aiming it toward Cater's pen but the senior had shouted, " ** _[Protego]_**!"

A shield materialized in front of him. However, he didn't notice Floyd came swimming toward him from behind, his magical pen sparking with electricity. With a laugh, he shot his sparks toward Cater, but the senior managed to swim away. In turn, Cater twirled his hand creating a tornado that hit Floyd, throwing him further from him.

"Deuce! Why are you here?!" Cater turned to the mackerel.

"I'm sorry!" Deuce said, tone guilty. "I didn't know that he would take me here and forced me to drink that potion."

"Azul had a batch of salacia potion too?" Jack asked.

"He just-" Deuce screamed grabbing his head. From afar, Floyd pointed his magical pen at him.

"Oi, Mackarel..." he said, in a low tone. "Didn't I tell you to get serious?" He waved his wand and suddenly Deuce swam forward, a fist raised toward Cater. Cater held his pen, but Jack suddenly interfered, grabbing Deuce's fist but be careful not to hurt him with his spikes.

"Deuce! You have to fight back!" Jack shouted.

"I can't!" the mackerel shouted back. "You have to run while you can. I don't want to hurt you!" Deuce flicked his tail, slapping Jack in the face, forcing him to let go of his fist. He tried to punch him again but Jack swam away. Deuce pointed his magical pen at him, shooting out, “ ** _[Rictusempra]_**!” But Jack summoned a pillar of rock to protect himself. The pillar wobbled as if it was laughing from the tickling before it broke into pieces.

"Jack!" Cater shouted.

"Watch out, Snapper~!" Floyd suddenly appeared behind Cater and looped his arm around Cater's neck, choking him in his hold. "Or else, you'll get in trouble."

"D-Don't-" Cater elbowed him on the stomach. The eel's eyes widened and his grip loosened. Cater used this chance to slipped away and once again shot his wind magic at him.

"We are nowhere closer to the museum at this rate!" Cater turned toward the still fighting Deuce and Jack. "Deuce, where is Jade?!"

"I don't know!" Deuce shouted back. "Floyd and I were alone all this time."

"Then, he's still in the school ground," Cater muttered, avoiding an electric shot from Floyd. "Hey! Don't interrupt me!"

"Aw~ But you're so boring~" Floyd laughed as he kept attacking Cater. "Azul told him to stay back since he had guessed that you might do something during the prefect meeting when he's not around."

"But if Jade is in the Mostro Lounge..." Cater eyes widened. "Trey is in trouble!"

Jack swam closer to Cater, both of them floating back to back as Deuce and Floyd circled them. "We should retreat for now. This is going nowhere."

Cater nodded. He lifted his magical pen and screamed. " ** _[Split Card]_**!" A magic circle appeared around him and Jack. One copy of red snapper merman appeared from each circle. "Fellows! Keep them away from us!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Oi, oi, oi~" Floyd giggled. "You can't get away that easy~" He saw forward but a Cater blocked him. The clone turned toward the real one and Jack. "Go! Get away from here!" Both mermen nodded and swam away, heading toward the same spot at the beginning, even with an eel and a mackerel swimming very close to them.

* * *

Arriving at the Mostro Lounge Office, Riddle was greeted with a sight of Trey, Ace, and Grim sleeping on the couch, with Jade standing behind Trey's couch. "Trey! Ace!" He ran toward his vice prefect, shaking his shoulder. "Hey! Wake up!" The glasses-wearing boy didn't look like he was in pain. If this was a different situation, Riddle would've guessed that they were just sleeping. He glared at Jade, but the back of his mind kept asking _why he was here and not in the ocean._ "What did you do to them?"

"Oh, there is nothing wrong with them," Jade smiled. "They were just a bit shocked." Jade reached for Trey's hair, caressing him gently but managed to make Riddle's blood boiled. "Found them trying to steal the golden contracts. How unsightly, to be honest."

"The contract sends out electric shocks if someone other than me touches it." The Heartslabyul Prefect froze when he felt Azul's gloved hand on his shoulder. "How unfortunate, isn’t it?"

"H-How?"

"Didn't anyone tell you? The contract can never be broken. Even your stupid captain knows that."

Riddle noticed the way Azul's grip got tighter at the mention of the captain. He frowned, slowly turning his head toward Azul. "What happens that day?" he asked carefully. "The day when everything went downhill."

The smile on Azul's lips slipped away. "Didn't anyone tell you already?"

"I want to hear it from your or Jonah's mouth." Riddle slapped Azul's hand away and slowly stood up, standing face to face with his fellow prefect. "What happened that you must curse him?"

Azul rolled his eyes. "Pretty simple, really." He started to walk away toward his desk. "I told him not to come here that day, and he did." He put his hand on his desk, but Riddle noticed the way they are trembling whether because of sadness or anger. "To make it worse, that boy was stupid enough to go back against our agreement."

"Just that?"

"Oh, please, dear Crimson Ruler. I don't want to hear that from you." Azul glanced backward toward Riddle. "Have you forgotten about your reign before?"

Riddle curled up his fingers into a fist. "I know what I did was tyrannical, but I want to be better."

"Because of the captain told you too?"

"No. This is my choice to change. Just like it was your choice to curse him." He stepped forward, one hand on his chest. "He trusts you, you know? He knows that you wouldn't go back against your own words, which was why he was willing to sign another contract with you."

"If he trusts me that much, why is he against me?" Azul spun around again and took a quick stride to Riddle, glaring at the smaller prefect. "If he trusts me, why did he choose to save his stupid friends than agreeing with me? Tell me, Riddle Rosehearts..." He reached for Riddle's jaws, gripping it tightly as if it was a threat. "Why does he choose you instead of me?"

Riddle couldn't answer that, because honestly, he didn't know the answer. He knew the captain was a dumbass who thought so little of his own life and wanted to save as many people as he could. He didn't understand the mindset of the kind-hearted captain who saved him during overblot and sticking with him until now. He honestly couldn't understand his own brain. Why was he willing to do something as stupid as challenging the prefect of another dorm, just to help a captain who got himself into this mess.

But he knew this was the right thing.

Jonah helped him back then and now it was his turn to help him.

They had come this far. He couldn't just pull back because of a petty quarrel.

Azul huffed. "I do not doubt that once he realizes the abnormality, he will run straight here to save you. In the meantime, while we wait." His lips curled into a dangerous smile that even Riddle felt afraid for a second. "I have an offer for you."

* * *

Jonah knocked at the infirmary door before opening it. "Mister Spencer?"

The old grandpa who was sitting behind his desk while examining some documents, looked up. "Jonah Argentum," the nurse greeted, closing his book as Jonah sat across the table. "What brings you here this time?"

"Just a question," he said. "So, I tried to drink a potion earlier, but I threw up." The boy gripped his stomach, still feeling guilty about the waste potion and his inability to help. "My stomach just couldn't handle it. Yet, the others are just fine."

"I see..." Spencer nodded. "I always wonder about that." He stood up and walked toward the cupboard of medicine next to him. "What potion did you try to drink?"

"Salacia potion."

Spencer paused from opening the door. "How did you brew that?" he asked, eyes squinting at the boy. "That was an advanced-level potion."

Jonah raised both of his hands. "I didn't. My friends made it for us."

Spencer stared at him for a few seconds before humming. "Alright. Let's try something." He grabbed a bottle shaped like a pyramid with a blue liquid in it. He opened the lid and gave it to Jonah. "Drink this."

"What is this?"

"A fire-protection potion. Try to drink that and tell me what it tastes like."

Jonah stared at the blue liquid. It did look way better than the potion earlier. He nodded and gulped the potion in one go. Once again, his stomach scrunched and he immediately covered his mouth to stop himself from puking. Spencer pointed at one of the waste buckets underneath the bed and made it flew to Jonah's lap. The boy didn't waste any more time with the gift and ducked, vomiting the potion and whatever that was left in his stomach. "Ugh..." He grunted. "It tastes horrible. It's like drinking overcooked cabbage."

"Is that so?" Spencer walked toward him as Jonah hurled some more, giving him some gentle pats on the back. "Strange. It was supposed to taste icy. Like eating some bland ice cream."

Jonah lifted his head, staring at the nurse with a raised eyebrow. "That doesn't taste good either."

"Yes. But how you describe the taste is different from what it is supposed to taste like." Spencer offered him a tissue box and Jonah pilled a piece to wipe his mouth. "You are a chef. You should know this strangeness." He sat back in his seat. "Mister Argentum, I think you have potion intolerance.

Jonah blinked, clearly still confused. "What? So, I'm sick?"

"No, no, no. It's similar to lactose intolerance, except with potion," Shalom explained. "Your body is unable to properly break down the various substances in the potions, so the digestive tract attempts to rid itself of the food as soon as possible. This leads to common intolerance symptoms, such as stomach pain." The nurse's gaze moved toward the metal right arm. "This is why I'm curious because there's such thing as a skele-gro potion, but because of your intolerance, we ended up cutting your disintegrate arm."

Jonah reached for his prosthetic arm, finger tracing the metal. "So... If I can't drink potions. Now what?"

"Well, there's always an alternative like eating magical plants with nearly the same effect as the potion," the nurse said. "But, what most work is to take care of yourself more. Don't get into too many life-threatening troubles."

Jonah sighed, feeling frustrated than ever. After saying a quick thank you, he walked back to the Mirror Chamber. He felt eyes watching him within every step he took, all judging and taunting him. His heart beat faster because of the anxiety and the feeling of being useless. Even when he finally reached the Mirror Chamber, the feeling didn't leave him alone. Even just waiting for Cater and Jack to return was a hard task to do.

_Once again, some conditions that he couldn't control stopped him. If he couldn't drink the potion, how was he supposed to beat the Leech Twins in a swimming contest? There was no way his flimsy legs would win against mermaids with tails. If this kept on going, how would he ever win?_

Finally, the Dark Mirror rippled and it spitted out two boys that Jonah knew. He ran toward them. "You're back- YOU'RE NAKED!"

"Ah-ha-ha... Yeah..." Cater lifted his head, smiling sheepishly. "This is a thing."

"You guys are lucky I have these with me." Jonah threw the clothes at them and politely turned around to give him some privacy as they changed. "So, how did it go?"

Jack sighed as he wore this underwear. "We didn't get it. Floyd and Deuce stopped us."

Jonah blinked confusedly. "Deuce?"

"Floyd used him against us!" Cater whined, butting his shirt from the top to bottom. "We can't attack him freely or else Deuce might get hurt."

"But..." Jonah clenched and unclenched the info. "What about Jade?"

"He wasn't with Floyd," Jack answered, finally finished wearing his full uniform. He shook his head, trying to get the extra seawater off his hair. "Which means he didn't dive at all."

"But why?"

"So, he could guard Mostro Lounge," Jack sighed. "Azul knew that if he goes to the prefect meeting, Mostro Lounge would be without supervision and we might use the opportunity."

"And we had an idea to steal the contract and maybe find a way to destroy it," Cater added. "Riddle sent Trey, ADeuce, and Grim to find out. But Deuce was in the sea..."

Jonah turned around in shock. Of course, with his conditions, he couldn't be mad at them that they would make a plan behind his back. _But still..._ "Why would you- Those contracts are unbreakable."

"There has to be a weakness in Azul's unique magic," Jack said, crossing his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. "If we can find it, we can use that slim chance to turn the table around."

"So, if Trey tries to steal them... But Jade is in Mostro Lounge as well..." Jonah's eyes widened, finally connecting the pieces. "It's a trap. Ashengrotto knows this will happen. He's one step ahead of us once again."

_Wait..._

_Ashengrotto somehow knew about the plan..._

_He was with Riddle the last time he saw them-_

Jonah gasped. "Oh no. Riddle."

"Riddle? What happened to Riddle?"

Cater didn't get an answer. Jonah immediately ran out of the Mirror Chamber, leaving the two of them calling his name. _He can't stop. Not when Riddle is currently with Ashengrotto, who knows what will happen. Anger is bubbling in his chest and his speed becomes faster. He swears if Azul even dares to touch Riddle..._

 _He's going to kill that takoyaki_.

* * *

"I'm not making this worse, Azul," Riddle stated as he slapped Azul's hand away and stepped back, but he couldn't get far with Jade standing behind him. "You can forget about this."

"On the contrary, Riddle." Azul walked back to his desk and sat on his chair, leg crossed and fingers folded on top of his knees. "You might want to sit down. You may actually help the captain."

Riddle's breath hitched. Azul's smirk widened. "Got your attention, I see?" He gestured to the empty seat in front of his desk. Riddle took a deep breath, feeling Jade's hand pressed against his back, urging him to step forward. The prefect sighed, finally walked toward the desk, and sit in front of the boss.

Azul cleared his throat. "As much as I want to offer you the chance to rip both of the captain's contracts, it would feel too easy for all of us." He snapped his fingers and a contract appeared in front of Riddle. The prefect's blue eyes widened when he recognized the captain's name signed at the bottom of the paper. "And the captain wouldn't like it if he can't save those meddling crew of his. But you might be able to lessen the burden."

Riddle lifted his head, glaring at Azul. "How?"

"I know he's not fond of unable to see his enemies or be together with his anemones, so I offer to lift his curse. Then he'll be able to see us all without drowning." He chuckled, leaning back against his chair. "Isn't that the best solution for everything? He'll still be able to save them and actually see his enemies."

"Even with the curse being lifted, he's still under your control," Riddle said.

"That was part of the deal, Riddle," Azul sighed. "I can't do anything about it. But the curse?" He snapped his fingers and the contract disappeared. "I can make it disappear with a stroke of your signature."

Riddle bit his lips. He knew Azul had the power to take away Jonah's curse as the original caster, and deep in his heart, he wanted to believe him. "But, of course. This deal doesn't come in free." Riddle focused on Azul again. "What would you offer me, dear Crimson Ruler?"

Riddle frowned at Azul. "How can I be so sure you wouldn't use this and backfire on us?"

The Octavinelle Prefect clicked his tongue. "You think so lowly at me, Riddle."

"Then, write this down." Riddle leaned forward. "You still have power upon Jonah but you will limit it to your mind-reading. You can't control his action or change the environment around the museum to his and his team's disadvantage."

Azul hummed as he nodded. "Such a big offer, but not impossible."

"If you do that..." the red-haired prefect gulped. "... I'll give you my _Off With Your Head_."

Azul laughed. "Wonderful!" He tapped his cane onto the table and a golden paper similar to earlier appeared in front of Riddle. Azul twirled his cane and changed it into a white feather. "Now, Riddle Rosehearts. If you could just sign here, your captain will be free from his curse and we'll be off in our way."

Riddle stared at the contract for a long time before reaching for the feather. He kept thinking of what would Jonah thought about this. _After all, he once said that he wouldn't let Riddle give up unique magic, but this will be worth it, right? As Azul said, he can help Jonah with this, right?_

Riddle gripped the feather tighter and slowly lowered to the shining golden paper. He made one stroke-

_*BANG!*_

It was followed by the sound of cannon-charging and _*BOOM!*_

Everyone ducked from the attack. The golden contract flew off the table and landed next to Azul's feet as if it was mocking him. The Octavinelle Prefect clicked his tongue and stood up, turning his head to the uninvited guest. "Excuse me. But we're in the middle of a meeting."

Jonah had his hand-cannon charging once again, preparing for an extra attack. "What? Can't handle me being here as well?" He stepped forward and everyone could just feel the radiating anger from the captain. "I thought this whole thing is just between the two of us, Ashengrotto."

"I never say anything about that," Azul said in a cold tone, brushing the dust from his suit. "You chose to put yourself and others in this situation. You should've known that I won't just let this opportunity to expand my business fly away."

"Too bad. Just this once, I won't let you get away with this." Jonah growled. "Now wake all of them up, rip that contract, and I won't blast a hole on your forehead."

Azul grabbed the feather from the ground and flicked it, changing it back into his cane. "They are still my anemones, Mister Argentum. Thus, they are still under my control."

"But Senior Trey and Riddle isn't. If I can save them, you really think I'll let that chance slide?"

Azul sighed. "How predictable. You will regret disturbing my business once again."

Jonah glared at Azul. "No. You will regret trying to hurt my friends."

Azul's grip on his cane became tighter. "And I wasn't one?"

His gem glowed and Azul slammed his cane to the ground. Under his feet, a great space appeared and extended, changing the whole office into the starry night sky. Riddle felt the floor underneath him disappeared. He fell into space, screaming to the void. Jade fell calmly without any sound, and the three sleeping students fell along with them.

"RIDDLE! GUYS!" Jonah stretched out his hand, but a ball of water suddenly shot itself toward him, forcing him to step back.

"All eyes on me, Captain!" Bubbles appeared a few feet ahead of him, and Azul emerged. "Don't let those friends of yours distract you."

Jonah reached for his sword pointing it at the prefect as Azul held onto his cane tighter, gem glowing dangerously despite the blotches of ink on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a strange love for this chapter. I really wish I can capture Riddle and Azul tension, even if the dialogues are a bit wonky at times.  
> Disappointing underwater battle is disappointing.  
> Also, Jonah has magic-lactose intolerance.  
> But Riddle and Azul interactions, man... I love it so much. I had so much fun writing those...


	98. Moody Discord! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me, sipping water until half-drunk: I wrote this. I wanted a dramatic office battle so I use illusion magic. I predict when you pass summary, they’ll be at each other’s throats with warpaint on their faces and a pig head on a stick. Good. There’s wasn’t enough angst around here.

In the vast space where the stars were the only spectators, two boys, once friends now enemies, fought heads on, face to face. Azul summoned two metal harpoon flying at Jonah. Only managing to pull his head away, one of the harpoons grazed his cheek, but he managed to jump back with the other harpoon stabbed the place he once stood. Azul jumped far, swinging his glowing cane at Jonah, but the captain rolled over before it can hit him. Azul lifted his leg, kicking Jonah, who wasn't able to roll quick enough, in the face, sent him flying further away.

"What's a matter, Argentum?" Azul mocked, stepping forward toward the boy. The space beneath him rippled like water every time they made contact. "Didn't you say you want to kill me?" He slammed his cane to the ground. Jonah could hear the sound of something burning. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw tiny bombs raining down at him. Jonah held his sword and sliced as many as he could. However, some managed to explode early, once again throwing his whole body back.

Jonah quickly got up. _Damn it, he was already gasping for air even though Azul hadn't broken a sweat. This battle would end soon and he would lose and lose Riddle and the other! He needed to get out of this space for good!_

"I'll be lenient for once," Azul suddenly spoke, stepping forward and space cracked a line. Jonah managed to pull himself away from falling into a pit of lava. "If you can beat me or even touch my cane, the world will shatter. That is if you don't go insane from the whole illusions."

Jonah chuckled. "Thanks for the great hint." _The objective was clear now._

Azul growled and dashed toward the captain once again, purple poisonous steam coming out from his fingers. Jonah barely dodged that. Azul managed to grab his eyepatch, pulling it off. Before he could do anything further, Jonah ducked and swept Azul's legs from underneath him. The Octavinelle Prefect fell to his back as Jonah jumped away, hands covering his right eye.

"I hope you don't mind if I'm playing safe here," Jonah smirked. "Someone did say not to be overcommitted in trying to beat your enemies."

Azul snorted. "But of course, you can't just win in full-on defensive more. Everything needs to be in perfect balance!" Azul ran straight at him, raising his cane. This time, Jonah swung his cutlass forward, clashing with Azul's weapon. He was pretty surprised at how strong the cane was, but it was created from a magical pen, so that must be a factor. Their deadly dance continued, sword and cane clashing in the dark of the night.

_Stab! Duck! Block! Jump! Parry! Slash!_

None of them showed any sign of slowing down, fighting until someone drop or declaring surrender. Azul jumped back and raised his cane, gem glowing as he summoned acid rain. Strangely enough, Jonah didn't make a move.

"This is an illusion, isn't it?" Jonah asked, nonchalantly. Azul's breath hitched. _How did he know?_ The captain dashed forward, using the small chance to punch Azul in the face. The Octavinelle Prefect was thrown back. Finally finding the right tempo, Jonah jumped forward once again, bringing his cutlass up. Azul was barely able to block it with his cane. With a grunt, his gem glowed and it let out a cloud of smoke with sand in it. Jonah winched when some sand slipping into his eyes and Azul used the chance to punch him in the stomach. The pirate gasped in pain and Azul smirked, followed up his attack with a smack of his cane, sending the pirate flying.

Jonah managed to maneuver himself on he landed on his knees instead of back. He ran toward Azul, sword ready once again. Azul had ready to defend himself with his cane, but Jonah switched, holding his sword in his left and charging up for a repulsion ray from his right, blasting beam toward Azul who summoned a forced shield in front of him. Jonah brought back his sword, stabbing the force shield with it until it broke like glass. The captain slid down and kicked Azul under his feet, letting him fall, but he quickly got up before Jonah could reach for his staff. The exchange continued with Jonah trying his best to get Azul away from his staff and Azul defensive-offensive with all his magic. It was such a miracle that Jonah could stand a chance against the prefect without any clear battle plan, but sheer stubbornness was definitely taken a lot of part in it.

Jonah shot his beam again, hitting Azul unprotected back. Azul staggered on his steps but didn't fall. However, his eyes widened when Jonah was suddenly in front of him, so close that their nose almost touch.

His right hand had a charged-up beam and Azul was ready to raise his force field-

-But Jonah threw away his sword and his left hand grasped the gem of the cane.

As if the world was made of glass, everything shattered despite the two of them still in the same position. The vast space had turned into the office once again, there were few burn marks from the explosion, and several books fallen from the ground. The other students were still in their same position, Jade and Riddle gasping at their final position.

The beam was still charging, ready to launch.

Still surprised at _how the fuck did he managed to trick him_ , Azul ducked.

_*BOOM!*_

The beam shot off.

No one got hurt.

_*BANG!*_

Azul's eyes widened and pushed Jonah away. He turned to the direction where the beam had exploded.

The safe door now had a smoking burn mark on it.

"You..."

Jonah didn't get to get away when Azul's hands found themselves around his neck, pushing him hard to the bookshelf that his vision spun for a second.

"Azul! Stop!" Riddle tried to run toward him, but Jade managed to hold him, arms below his armpits and feet dangling off the ground as he pulled back. "That's enough!"

The Octavinelle Prefect didn't even acknowledge the redhead. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" He screamed at Jonah's face, fingers squeezing his neck. "NOT ONLY YOU TURNED YOUR BACK AGAINST ME, NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO DESTROY MY LIFETIME ACCOMPLISHMENT?!"

Jonah reached for the invisible hands, trying his best to pull them away before he ran out of breath. "What are you talking about?" he wheezed. "You said those contracts are invincible."

"SHUT UP!" Azul pulled him only to push him back so hard that Jonah was pretty sure he had a concussion. Books toppled from the shelf, hitting Azul's back, but the prefect didn't seem to care. His fiery focus only aimed at the smaller boy in his grasp. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, CAPTAIN!" His hold became tighter and Jonah started to gasp for air as Azul's face moved closer toward his. "I should've never helped you if I know this will end up like this," Azul whispered and for a second Jonah stopped struggling. His grip on Azul's hands was trembling but didn't want to let go.

"You..." Jonah whispered back. "Don't mean that..."

Azul's expression didn't change. The shadow over his eyes gave him such an evil look as he towered over him. "Should I spell it out loud?" he spat, each word was filled with venom. "I. Hate. You."

Jonah let out a gasp. His hands gripping Azul harder, unable to accept this. He bit his lip, unable to hold back the tears flowing down his cheek. _It hurt. Way more painful than the way Azul was choking him. He stared at the expression of the prefect who was once close to him now even further away from him, even tried to kill him right now._ "Az..."

Jonah's eyes widened, his left eye changing from green to the usual black. _The counter curse-_ Once again, he was struggling to breathe. Bubbles and water came out from his mouth. Azul's eyes widened and let go of the captain. The boy was in pain, hands on his mouth and nose, trying to keep the oxygen in.

"Azul! It's sunset!" Even Riddle was near crying, but unable to do anything with Jade still gripping him in a tight lock. "He'll die! Let us go!"

"There is another way to stop this, Riddle." Azul didn't even turn around. His emotionless gaze only focused on the drowning captain. He tapped his cane to the ground and the previous contract that was presented to Riddle flew in front of the Heartslabyul Prefect's face. "All you need to do is just sign it."

"Don't...!" Jonah shouted. "Ridd-!" He started to cough before doubling over and vomited so much water.

"Jonah!" Riddle turned to Azul, pleading. "Alright! Alright! I'll sign your contract!"

"Good choice." Azul spun his cane and it changed into the white feather. Letting it go, it flew toward Riddle. Jade finally let go of the redhead who immediately grabbed the feather.

"Ridd..." Jonah coughed once again, his arms no longer couldn't support his body. Stretching one hand out toward Riddle felt like a struggle. "D..." The captain's vision started to turn dark, and with one last gasp of the bubbles, his hand became limp and fell to the floor.

"Riddle!" Azul barked. Riddle quickly wrote his signature. A magic circle appeared underneath his name, sealing the deal. The contract rolled itself and flew toward Azul who caught it. Riddle ran toward Jonah, fell onto his knees, and turned the captain's body so his back was against the floor.

" ** _[It's A Deal]_**!" Azul announced, slamming his cane to the ground. A magic circle appeared in front of Riddle's chest and the prefect could felt like something was being ripped apart from inside of him. He let out a scream when a ball of light, undoubtfully his unique magic, flew out of him and into Azul's waiting palm. Another magic circle appeared in front of Jonah's opened mouth, pulling out all the water from the boy's lung, evaporating it into the air. Jonah coughed once again and Riddle helped him to lay on his side.

Azul huffed, turning around and snapping his fingers. Groans could be heard from the couches and Riddle turned to see Ace, Grim, and Trey waking up from their sleep.

"Wha..." Grim yawned. "Whatzzap...?"

"We got whammed. That's what." Ace groaned sitting up and letting Grim fell to the floor, earning a squeaked from the cat.

Grim rubbed his head and looked up, eyes widened when he saw the barely conscious captain. "Jonah!" Grim's voice was enough to grab Ace and Trey's attention to the two fallen boys. The cat tapped the captain's cheeks repeatedly. "Hey! Hey! Stay awake!"

Jonah weakly lifted his head and tiredly blinked at Grim. He could make up the blurry figure of Trey and Ace who ran to him as well.

"We're leaving," Riddle whispered, gripping onto Trey's jacket. "Carry him." Trey nodded. Even after his long nap, he was still able to carry the nearly unconscious boy. They were about to leave but Jonah managed to grab onto Azul's sleeve.

"You know what?" His voice was hoarse but still audible. What he said was something no one expected from the kind captain who once captured all heart with his charm.

"I hate you too."

Azul didn't answer and Jonah wasn't waiting for one. He let his hands dropped, letting himself be carried out of the messy office.

Jade could only stare at the unmoving Azul. He knew better than to disturb the prefect in his thought.

Azul reached for his mouth to swallowed back his sob. His cheeks felt wet as tears flowed down. _Why was he crying? This was supposed to be the best outcome. His contracts are saved (minus the possible dent on his safe door), he now has_ Off With Your Head _, the captain wasted another day to get the photo, and he still has all the upper-hands._

_But still..._

_"Should I spell it out loud? I. Hate. You."_

_"You know what? I hate you too."_

_Why does it hurt so much?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> I tried to make this a dramatic battle, but my creativity juice just stopped flowing.  
> Now, if you excuse me. I'm gonna lie down from this whole arc.  
> Boys... Please stop...


	99. Let’s Find Some Wisdom! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH, talking about AZUL: I did not hit him. It’s not true. It’s bullshit. I did not hit him. I did not… Oh, hi, Malleus.

Jonah barely registered when they were about to leave the Mostro Lounge that Deuce and Floyd entered. Ace and Grim were thrilled to meet up with the last of their trio. When they finally jumped out of the mirror, Cater and Jack was waiting for them at the Hall of Mirrors.

"Put me down," the captain spoke. Despite Trey's best effort to keep him in his arm, Jonah pushed himself off of the senior.

"Jonah-"

Jonah stepped back, back turned against the approaching Riddle. "Don't."

Riddle let his hand dropped to his side, letting out a pained sigh. _Of course, he would._ But Jonah was too mess up to consider that. "I just..."

"If I could at least try to protect you from ever giving up your _unique magic_ , I would do it," Jonah muttered in a hoarse voice. "But, in the end, I can't even do that."

"You nearly die-"

Jonah glanced back. "Is it really worth it?"

Riddle's brow furrowed. He took a step forward, voice steady and filled with certainty. "Yes."

Jonah bit his lip and looked down at his feet. "Just... I need some time alone."

"Jonah-"

Ignoring the call of the Heartslabyul Prefect, Jonah ran away, never looking back. Riddle didn't know how to feel. _Was this supposed to be a rejection from Jonah? Was it a good idea to give up his_ unique magic _? Yes. He was sure. He saved his life. So why he can't see it?_

Trey looked at Ace who was holding Jonah's cutlass. Opening his palm as a silent request, Ace understood it easily and gave it to Trey. The greenette knelt next to Grim who was holding Jonah's cutlass. "Grim," he said, offering the blade to the cat. "Can you go with him?"

Grim looked up at him worriedly. "He won't die when looking at me, right?"

"No," Riddle answered without looking at him. "He shouldn't be. Azul made a deal for that."

Trey sighed through his nose and looked back to Grim. "He'll need someone to comfort him right now."

Grim nodded at him. "Alright." The cat grabbed the sword then flew ahead of them, hopefully, able to find the missing captain.

Ace walked toward Riddle and gently put his hand on the still frozen redhead. "Prefect," he said, voice gentle but filled with guilt. "We're sorry we've failed you."

"I just..." Riddle sighed. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

Trey walked up to him and knelt in front of him, hands on both of the boy's shoulder to make sure he was focusing on him. "You did it to save his life. You did the right thing," he spoke gently. "He just needs some time to process this."

Riddle sighed again. "He's angry, isn't he?"

"At himself? Maybe. But never at you." Trey ran his hand down Riddle's hair in an attempt to give the prefect some reassurance. "Come on, let's go back to Heartslabyul."

Riddle mutely agreed. The Heartlabyul gang walked back to their mirror while Jack walked to his. None of them had any clue what to do next.

* * *

Walking through the main street, Jonah felt numb. Maybe because of the tiredness from the battle earlier or maybe the guilt of failing to keep what he has left finally settle in. He felt like shit right now, both physically and emotionally. Looking up, he didn't even notice that he had turned and found himself in front of the brightly lit Ramshackle Dorm. _His home. And Ashengrotto took it._

Jonah fell to his knees, hands gripping the grass underneath him and forehead pressed against the metal fence. "I'm sorry..." he choked a sob, "I'm sorry..."

Tiny footsteps approached him and Jonah's breath hitched when he felt the familiar soft paws on his knees. "Jonah..."

The boy slowly lifted his head, staring at Grim whose ears were down. "Please, don't cry."

"I failed, Grim," Jonah whispered. "I lost to Ashengrotto, Senior Riddle had to give up his _unique magic_ , you're still under that takoyaki control, we are still dormless, and I..." he sobbed, trying his best to wipe the tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "... I'm so useless."

"No! You're not useless!" Grim's paws were on his wet cheeks, squeezing them lightly like trying to make an emphasis. "You tried your best to save us! Nothing that you do is useless!"

"It doesn't feel like I'm doing anything good." Jonah averted his gaze. "Senior Riddle did all the planning, even Jack and Ace thought of doing something. I just..." He sighed, shifted his position so his back was leaning against the fence as he looked up to the starry sky. Grim curled up in his lap, nuzzling his cheek onto Jonah's stomach as the boy's hand pat his head softly.

They didn't know how long they sat in this chilly air. Jonah's eyes started to drop. That was until he saw a small green firefly flew past him. _He knew that firefly, right?_

"Hm? Why such long faces?"

Grim jumped from his lap and landed on his four paws as the familiar, tall, horned, Diasomnia boy stood just a few feet from him.

"You..."

"Who are you?" Grim hissed, tail straight up and ready to fight.

The Diasomnia kid raised an eyebrow at the cat, then turned to the boy. "It seems like either of you know fear, do you?"

Jonah rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I'm just wondering why the Ramshackle Dorm has been quite noisy lately. Do you have new dormmates now?"

"You are from Diasomnia, right? Surely, you've heard something from Senior Vanrouge."

The boy hummed. "Indeed. He did mention about a certain star falling into an uncharted sea." His lips curled into a tight smile. "It appears it's you, isn't it?"

Jonah sighed. _Right. Senior Vanrouge mentioned that too. 'Not to dip thy feet into the dangerous water 'lest thou wot what thou are doing' or something like that, was it?_ "I'm gonna lose everything by tomorrow..." he whispered, fingers curled into a fist, "It's game over. He will win."

The boy was silent again as he stared at the boy and the cat who walked back to him to give a light pat on the knuckle. He turned toward the bright dorm once again. "Have you noticed how beautiful gargoyle sculpture by the walls of this dorm?"

Jonah groaned. "Please. I don't want to recite the whole paragraph of the Gargoyle Strike of 1911."

The boy ignored that and kept on talking, "A gargoyle looks as if it's a monstrous being made of stone at first glance, however it is actually a rain gutter made to protect the buildings from torrential rain." The boy smiled, eyes twinkling in amazement. "It is scary at first glance, but they are very important beings that help the house stay standing. Or so I think."

"So..." Grim turned toward him, looking at him strangely. "Are you saying that they are good guys?"

The boy nodded, almost too eagerly. "There are times when what we see is the opposite of what they really are."

There was a small spark in Jonah's brain as if telling him to note this. _This might be important._ The horned boy noticed the way he flinched when he finally realized it and he smiled. "I can only wish for the best for you to claim back your freedom, Little Star." He nodded slightly at him before stepping back. "This place better not turn into such a fun-house too."

The boy once again disappeared into a group of green fireflies. Grim crossed his paws in front of his chest and huffed. "That guy is weird."

Jonah didn't respond to it. The boy's word kept ringing in his head. _There are times when what we see is the opposite of what they really are..._ "Hey, Grim. What exactly happened when you touched Ashengrotto's contract?"

Grip patted his chin, trying to remember. "It electrocuted us." He winched. It still stings."

Jonah frowned. _Something doesn't add up._ "If the contract does electrocute you, then why does he bother to keep it inside a safe since no one but him can touch it?"

Grim shrugged. "Well, it's obvious since it's important to him, yanno?"

"Or maybe..." Jonah tapping his chin. The gears in his brain finally got to work again. "The contract is not as invincible as we think it is..."

Grim tilted his head to the side, still not getting anything. "Jonah...?"

"There are times when what we see is the opposite of what they really are," Jonah repeated as he stood up. Slowly, his eyes widened and he let out a gasp. "Oh, it makes sense now."

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Ruggie and Jack ran into Leona's room from their senior's scream. The prefect was sitting on the bed, staring at the captain who let himself in by jumping from the balcony. Leona pressed his knuckles onto his forehead in annoyance. "Look. I can tolerate your cat jumping onto the balcony, but I draw the line where pirate can loot my stuff."

"I know what Ashengrotto's weakness is."

"What?"

Jonah walked closer to the prefect's bed, eye shining with seriousness. "There's a reason why Ashengrotto keep his contracts inside the safe even though he claimed that they can't be destroyed because it electrocutes those who touch it," he said. "The contract is not as invincible as we thought it is."

Leona started at the captain for a few moments before his eyes widened slightly. "I see now," he chuckled, tail swishing in interest.

"Oh!" Ruggie slammed his fist into his palm finally connecting the dots. "It's common sense to keep important things in a safe, so I didn't even question his logic."

Leona nodded. "That means that the electrocution from the contracts is a big bluff, too."

"What!?" Grim gasped loudly from Jonah's shoulder.

"He must've put lightning magic onto the contract because he knows you'll be trying to steal it when he's not around," Ruggie said.

"That bastard Azul!" Grim snarled. "He's such a double-dealing little cheater!"

Leona stared back at the captain. "Looks like it'll be faster to go and see what will happen if the contracts are taken out of the safe."

"Yes," Jonah nodded. "That's why I want to offer an alliance."

Leona clicked his tongue. "Oi. What happens to the 'keep our distance for now so we don't look suspicious' plan?"

"Tomorrow is the final day, Senior Leona." Jonah leaned forward, face nearly close to Leona. "I let the Heartslabyul do whatever they want, but I have no doubt they will try to dive again, leaving Ashengrotto, who we already know his weakness, wide open."

"And why should I help you?"

Ruggie's brow furrowed. "Leona..."

But both prefects ignored him. Leona glanced at the bruise mark shaped like fingers around Jonah's neck. "For the looks of it, Azul tried to kill you earlier." Noticing how Jonah's fingers are twitching, wanting the touch the bruise, but he held back. Leona stared back into his eye. "Why should I risk my life for a pirate who got himself into this mess in the first place?"

Jonah was silent for a moment before sighing. "It was true that all of this was partially my fault, but the damage has been done." His tone was colder, and Leona would've guessed that it was because of whatever happened between him and the Octo Punk earlier. "I just want to save my crew no matter what consequences will affect the relationship between Ashengrotto and me." Jonah finally leaned back, giving more room for Leona to breathe. "I need all the crew I can find for this last stand. But this is still your choice. You will have to pick what you are going to do now."

"And why is that?" Leona dared to ask.

Jonah closed his eyes for a moment. "Because..."

Then, he brushed his bangs aside, revealing his strange yellow eyes with more black splotched underneath. _Leona could've sworn he saw a very dim magic circle around the red iris_.

"This is your captain's order."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A DOUBLE UPDATE! YAAY!
> 
> Leona is tired of this whole bullshit. Please, get out of his room.
> 
> We’re finally entering the final day of the museum heist in the next chapter and I have a few announcements!  
> Just like the two main arcs before, we're going to have a recap episode! Unfortunately, I can’t give the exact date because next Wednesday (maybe) I’ll be going to the hospital to consult about my arm operation, so I don’t know exactly when I can start writing again, probably a week or two after the operation. Once I can get back to writing with a decent schedule and start the last part of the museum heist + overblot battle, I’ll let you guys know.  
> In the meantime, if any of you are curious behind the scene of “The Merchant of the Deep Sea”, asking why I torture these boys to the brink of insanity, or just to talk, just submit your messages to my “Good Question” box on Tumblr @tsukikoayanosuke! [https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/]


	100. Take-Off Strategy! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH and GRIM, sneaking into the museum: Don't be suspicious~ Don't be suspicious~

_*brak!*_

Azul stared at the book that he had thrown to the wall, letting it fall to the floor and opening on the page of the Atlantica Memorial Museum as if it was mocking him. That book was useless now. With Riddle's contract binding him, he couldn't mess around with Jonah's final attempt to steal the photo the next morning.

Azul felt like he wanted to rip his hair apart. _What the fuck was Malleus Draconia doing there? Did the captain somehow get further help from Diasomnia? He knew he got help from Lilia Vanrouge for the counter curse, but THE Malleus Draconia actually walking up and giving him cryptic hints that he managed to solve?! WHAT THE FUCK?!_

The only good thing from this night was Leona didn't give his answer. He knew the lion wouldn't want to get involved. He kicked the captain and his cat out of his room and the two of them went back to their temporary room. _But still! The fact that Argentum was able to get in touch with the two of the most fearsome prefects of NRC was something Azul wasn't expected to happen in these final hours. Especially after the fight and both of their mind were still a mess. How did he manage to do this?!_

**_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la~ My, oh, my~ Look like the boy too shy! He ain't gonna kiss the girl~"_ **

"What the..." Azul muttered. Looking in through Jonah's eye, he saw the boy was holding a strange, glowing, bronze orb. The voice echoing from the orb sounded like someone was singing. He saw Jonah moved his fingers, tapping on the circular pattern on the orb and twisting the side. Azul's eyes widened when the bright green light came out from the orb and spread out through his/Jonah's room, taking them to a lake during a beautiful romantic night.

**_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la~ Ain't that sad! Ain't it a shame, too bad... He gonna miss the girl!"_ **

Azul/Jonah looked ahead and saw a couple on a boat. _Wait._ Azul recognized him. _Well, sort of._ That was the mermaid princess and her human prince.

**_"You know, I feel really bad about not knowing your name. Maybe I could guess. Is it...Mildred?"_ **

The princess stuck out her tongue and scrunched up her face and the prince chuckled.

**_"Ok, no. How about Diana? Or Rachel?"_ **

A red crab swam up to the boat and whispered near the prince.

**_"Ariel, her name is Ariel."_ **

**_"Ariel?"_ **

The princess smiled brightly, holding his hand close to her, and nodded. The prince smiled back at her, putting his hand on top of her.

**_"Ariel, huh? That's a pretty name."_ **

The princess and the prince got closer and closer, their eyes fluttered shut. But none of them realized the two eels that swam below the boat and flip it over.

Azul/Jonah felt their world was also tipped over, splashing into the sea. There they saw the sea witch with the princess tied by the eels. Across them, the sea king was pointing his glowing trident at the sea witch.

**_"Let her go!"_ **

The king ordered, but the sea witch just laughed.

 **_"Not a chance, Triton. She's mine now!_ ****_The contract we made is legal, binding, and completely unbreakable, even for you. But, I might_** **_be willing to make a bargain."_**

The sea witch conjured a golden contract that the princess signed earlier. _(Earlier? Jonah saw more of these before?)_

**_"The daughter of the Great Sea King for someone even better. Now, do we have a deal?"_ **

The king stared at his daughter and gave out a sigh. With his triton, he changed the name of the princess on the contract into his name.

**_"Ha! it's done then!"_ **

As the contract shone brightly the sea around them lit up as well, forcing Azul/Jonah to cover their eyes with their arms. When the light dimmed and it was safe to open their eyes again, they found themselves in their respective room. Azul let out a tired sighed as he leaned to the wall, hand pressed to his forehead. _What was that? Those... Dream? Vision? Whatever it was... It told the tale of the legend... But how? How did they somehow saw the sea witch herself?_

"It was bound to happen." Azul looked up as Jonah's voice rang through his mind. The boy kept staring at the strange orb, while his other hand was stroking Grim's head to reassure himself. "We have no choice."

A realization struck in both of their minds. _The way the merfolk king gave up his whole power over the kingdom to save his daughter was terrifyingly similar to how Riddle gave up his unique magic in order to save Jonah._

Azul tried to remember what happened in the last few days, and with the clue, tried to connect it with the legend.

_The princess wanted to be with the prince, thus she made a deal with the sea witch... Jonah wants to save his friends (to be with them again), thus he made a deal with him (the sea witch)... Both contract's time limit was three days... In the end, the sea king made a deal with the sea witch to save the mermaid princess... And Riddle (the King of Heartslabyul) made a deal with him (again, the sea witch) to save Jonah (the supposed mermaid princess)..._

_And if they follow the pattern..._

_..._

_..._

_He'll lose._

_The sea witch was killed, stabbed by the ship of the human prince._

_She lost._

"No..." Azul shook his head. "NO! I WILL NOT TAKE THAT ENDGAME!"

_After everything he had done, he just can't lose. He just can't let that stupid captain ruin all his hard works. The captain didn't have a clear plan. He just wants to jump to the sea as fast as he could and take the picture before the Leech Twins could get to him._

Azul scoffed, getting up and walking out of his room. _Is that how will you go? Then, he'll just order the twins to get up early and dive immediately. He had checked the museum earlier. It was closed and under tight security. There was no way the captain could go through those._

_He had this in the bag. He will win._

_The days of failures and people mocking at him had passed. He won't let that happen again._

* * *

**Dawn of the Final Day - Thursday, 9th December**

* * *

Jonah stared at the Dark Mirror in front of him, his heart was hammering loudly behind his ribcage. He put a hand on his chest and breathed in before sighing through his mouth. Grim, who was perching on his shoulder, glanced at the boy. He wasn't trembling per se, but the nervousness was clear. "Are you sure we'll be okay diving in on our own?" the cat asked.

Jonah sighed again. "I'll be honest, I have no idea," he muttered. Turning his head slightly toward the cat, he gave him an apologetic smile. "But, it's worth trying." The boy dug into his pants pocket and took out a vial of grey liquid. He gave it to Grim. "Here."

"What is this?"

"Salacia potion. It'll turn you into a mermaid. Or mercat, I guess," he chuckled at the end. "I can't drink it, so you can have it."

"Wait. What about you?" Grim flew of Jonah's shoulder and floated in front of his face. "How are you going to breathe underwater?"

"I have this. Picked it this early morning from the pharmacy." He dug his pocket again and took out a handful of green, curly, seaweed-like grass. "Gillyweed. It'll just make me have gills instead. So, while it's not as powerful as the potion, it's still something." He sighed again, looking up at their reflection in the mirror. "This is the last day, Grim," he said, crushing the gillyweed in his hand. He turned to the cat, eye shining with determination. "We have to get that photo."

Grim nodded, grinning, showing out his fangs. "We will!" He opened the cork of the vial. "Alright..."

Jonah nodded, bringing the grass close to his mouth. "Bottoms up!" Grim said, gulping the potion in one go as Jonah threw the grass into his mouth.

"Blegh..." Grim stuck out his tongue. "It takes like a frog and rotten mushroom combined, yanno...!"

Jonah made a disgusted face as he chewed onto the gillyweed. When he swallowed it, he gasped loudly. "I was going to complain about eating plain seaweed, but you beat me." He nearly gagged but swallowed thoroughly. "Come on, let's dive."

Grim nodded again. He pressed his two paws to the surface of the mirror. " ** _[Magic mirror, listen to me]_**!" he chanted as the mirror glowed. " ** _[Take us both to the Coral Sea]_**!"

The mirror glowed and shone out light blue wavy light. Silouhette of various fishes came out from the mirror and surrounding the amazed boy and cat. Grim's body started to glow green from the potion while Jonah could feel the side of his neck was being ripped open. It was soon that they realized that they started to float. Jonah grabbed Grim and started to swim past the mirror. Once both of them swam through, like a light switch, the chamber dimmed down to normal.

* * *

Jonah opened his eyes when he was sure no bubbles were smacking his face. He recognized the spot they were floating. This was the same spot he, Riddle, and Jack had arrived in the first place. Well, this would make his job easier. He certainly was glad that he didn't lose his clothes. Looking down for some changes, he noticed that he had webbing between his fingers and toes, along with gills on the side of his neck.

"Gah!" Jonah turned to Grim. The cat's fur now has some tints of green. His lower legs now changed into a scally-tail with wide tail-fin and spiky fins around his waist. "I'm a half-fish!" he screamed, flicking his new tail to test it. "I'm a catfish."

Jonah groaned. "No. I cooked catfish before. It looks nothing like you."

Grim laughed out loud. "Do you know where we are going?" he asked.

Jonah hummed. "I think I remember..." he said, spinning around to look at his surroundings. He stopped, facing the left path. "Let's go this way."

The two of them swam through the ocean, Jonah was able to point out some recognizable landmark from the first dive. It was going smoothly. _Nearly too smoothly..._

A pair of shadows suddenly swam above them. "Grim." Jonah pulled Grim close to his chest as he stopped swimming. The twin shadow started to circle them as a familiar laughed was heard from above. "Ah~ It's Baby Seal and Little Piranha~"

"This voice is... The shady twins!" Grim shouted.

"Correct~" Jonah held onto Grim tighter as the owners' of the shadows descend. Both of their eyes widened as Floyd and Jade swam closer to them.

"Welcome back to the underwater world, gentlemen," Jade greeted, hand on his shirtless chest.

"AAAAAA! Snakes with abs!" Grim screamed.

Floyd giggled at him. "Nope, we're eels~"

Jonah pushed Grim back, reaching for the sword around his belt. "It seems like Ashengrotto really doesn't want me to win, does he?"

"I'm blaming you, Baby Seal," Floyd pouted. "He woke us up really early for this."

"He is very troubled." Jade crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowning. "Nearly desperate, I must say." His lips curled up into a cruel smile. "But the order is clear."

Jonah pulled out his sword, pointing it at the twins who didn't look afraid at all. "Let's play tag until sunset, Baby Seal~" Floyd laughed.

Jonah swam backward. "I'm not playing this game."

"You don't have much choice here." Floyd twirled his magical pen, sparking with lightning. "Let's play!" He shot out his magic and Jonah raised his sword in front of himself, ready to protect himself and Grim. However, suddenly a wall of earth shot up from the ground, surprising everyone there.

"How about you play with us instead?"

All heads turned toward the voice. A red-snapper merman was smiling widely at him, standing next to the sea urchin merman who pointed his magical pen toward the spot between Jonah and Floyd. "We love some games!"

Jonah's eye widened, recognizing the hair of the mermen. "Cater?! Jack?!"

The two merman swam toward the boy and his mercat, getting in the way of the two eels. "What are you doing here?" Grim asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're here to help you." Cater glanced back, grinning at him.

"You guys go to the museum." Jack gripped his magical pen tighter. "We'll handle the twins."

"Argh~!" Floyd swam back to float next to Jade, pouting at the newcomers. "I don't want to play with you! Get out the way!" Floyd shot a ray of lighting toward them. Jack pointed at the ground again, raising a wall of earth between them.

"Guys, go!" Jack screamed.

"Jonah, let's go!" Grim pulled Jonah aside. Jonah glanced at the two of them then at Grim. He let out a groan.

"Alright." Jonah sheeted his sword and swam away. Jade glanced at the runaway boy. He swam toward him, but Cater appeared in front of him.

"Sorry. But we can't let you stop them." His magical pen glowed as magic circles appeared around them. " ** _[Split Card]_**!" Form each circle, a Cater appeared. All of them were laughing.

"You’re pretty annoying for small fry," Floyd whined, eyes wide in annoyance. "We’ll deal with you in a second."

Jade sighed. "Ah, good grief..."

* * *

"What are you two doing?!" Azul slammed his hands to the table. "Just swim past them and get that brat! It's that easy!" He was so close to grabbing the book, but of course, his contract with Riddle prevent him from doing that. _Why can't that Heartslabyul just leave that captain alone?!_

_*bang!*_

"Hey, Azul!"

Azul snapped his head up, glaring at Ace who slammed the door open. "What now?!" Azul yelled. "Can't I just have one thing under control right now?!"

"There's a lot of people in the lounge right now." For once Ace actually looked confused, glancing to the side, at the direction of the main dining area and back to Azul. "Like, I think every dorm is here."

"Every..." Azul frowned. "What do you mean?"

"How should I know?" Ace shrugged. "But I think the Scarabia Prefect mentioned something about a party?"

"Kalim is here too?" Azul massaged his temple. "For Great Seven sake..." The boss pushed his poor employee out of the way and closed the door, locking it before walking away.

Ace stayed behind for a few seconds, tracing the handle. He could felt the magic barrier around the keyhole. Taking out his phone, he dialed one of the numbers saved in this phonebook.

"There's a barrier for the door. We need that key in his trench coat."

["Shishishishi. On it."]

* * *

"Whoa..." Grim gasped in awe and the castle-like building from where they were hiding behind the rock. "That's the museum? Pretty fancy."

Jonah hummed. "Come on. I don't know how long those two can stall the twins." He grabbed Grim paw and pulled him along, swimming closer to the museum. Looking it from up close, he had to agree with Grim. The building was magnificent, the light that shone through the water made it seem like it was glowing.

Grim suddenly pulled back. "Jonah, look." He pointed at the front entrance of the museum which had a red rope and guarded by two mermen. There wasn't anyone on the ticket box and a sign that stuck on the glass spelled 'close'.

Jonah clicked his tongue in annoyance. "This timing's the worst."

"What are we going to do?" Grim asked. "We can't just go back."

"We have to sneak in," he whispered. "But the guards might be a problem."

"Ah, it's a shame."

"Wait." Grim patted Jonah's cheek. "Look." He pointed at the approaching merman. He still had two arms and legs like a human, but he had a green turtle shell on the back, patterned skin, and green hair.

"Anything I can help you, Sir?" asked one of the guards.

"I don't know." The turtle-merman sighed. "It seems like the museum is closed today. And I thought I can do some research about the mermaid's history."

"Oh, are you a researcher?"

"You can call me that." The turtle-merman pushed his glasses up, chuckling. "But in the end, I'm just a human who is very fascinated in merfolk."

"Oh, a human?" The guard laughed. "It's very rare for land-dwellers to come here. Did you drink a potion to have that shell?"

"Yes. I'm surprised myself that my merform is a turtle. So not all merfolk has a fishtail."

"That is correct." The guard nodded. "There are some who have tentacles instead of a tail. Even each tail can be from different species."

"Perhaps my visit would be a waste." He took out a small book and a pen from his satchel. "Can I ask you several questions?"

The guard laughed again. "Of course, young lad."

From where they were hiding, Jonah frowned. "Is it just me or that turtle seem familiar?"

"Who knows?" Grim shrugged. "Let's sneak in while the guard is distracted."

"Right." Jonah nodded. He swiped the screen on his prosthetic arm, showing up the map of the museum that he had saved days ago. "Come on. I know where the back door is."

Turning it off again, he pulled Grim around the museum. They hid behind the rock where a side door was located. There was a reddish-orange merman guard who just finished unlocking the door. Picking up the trident that was leaning against the wall beside him, the guard swam in.

"That dude forgets to close it," Grim snickered. "What a newbie."

Jonah nodded. "Now's our chance."

The two of them swam to the door and entered the museum, closing it softly behind them. Inside the building was as magnificent as the outside. Various land-dwellers things were presented on the pedestals, hung on the wall, or around the white pillar. In the middle of the main floor, there was a statue of a merman which Jonah recognized as the sea king from the vision last night. _Does that mean whatever happened in those vision were real?_

"Jonah." He felt Grim pulled his clothes. Pointing at a wall filled with pictures near the entrance.

"This must be the place Azul pointed out." Grim swam up to one of the pictures, reading the label below it. "'The commemoration picture of Court Musician Horatio 12th’s visit'." He swam to another one. "'Fourth Queen's visit'." He swam back, whistled at the amount of frame on the wall. "There's a lot of important people visiting here. They probably won’t notice even if we take one, yanno."

Jonah scanned through the frames until his eye landed on one of them. He swam toward it. "'Prince Rielle, visiting with his friends during his elementary school field trip'. This must be it." He picked up the frame and easily took out the photo in it. There were a bunch of merchildren smiling at the camera. The upfront most center of the group was a red-haired merchild with a teal tail. Jonah frowned. _Why does this merchild look familiar?_

"What are you two doing here?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 100, BABY!  
> I'm starting to ran out of idea for the teleportation chants and sequence.  
> We are in the first step of the final day! Let's see how the captain will get out from this mess and what the heck is going on in Mostro Lounge?!  
> Let's see if any reader can figure out the full plan before the reveal in the next few chapters!


	101. Lounge of Beasts! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AZUL: *just trying to be cautious*  
> LEONA: I'm about to end this octopus' whole career.  
> (Also, the Scarabia Duo is here because why not)

"Wha–!? Oh, crap, it’s a guard!" Grim squeaked. Jonah held back his tongue from cursing as he shoved the photo into his pocket and pushed Grim behind him. There were two mermen guard swimming toward them.

"A-Ah... Hello, Sir," Jonah tried to greet them when the two guards stopped in front of them.

"Young man, what are you doing here?" asked the older guard.

"We are really sorry." Jonah ducked his head and rubbed behind his head, looking like a little kid who got caught stealing from the cookie jar. "We thought the museum is opened, so we tried to get in. No wonder this place is quiet."

"Yes. We are currently under maintenance, the older guard said again. "Some historic things must be taken care of thoroughly if not it'll be moldy."

"Ah, I see," Jonah hummed, nodding apologetically. "Again. We are really sorry. We'll make sure to check on the schedule first. We'll be going now."

Before he could swim away, the younger merman guard, which Jonah and Grim recognized as the newbie from earlier, swam closer to them and put a hand on Jonah's back, stopping him. "I'll escort them out," he said.

The other guard nodded. "Alright."

Jonah gulped as the guard escorted him and Grim out of the museum through the side door from earlier. Once they were outside, Jonah and Grim let out a sigh as the guard closed the door.

"I must say." Jonah froze when he heard the guard talk. "You are a quite good liar, Mister Argentum."

_Wait a minute..._

Frowning, Jonah turned toward the guard, making sure to take a good look at the orange-skinned merman who was smirking at him and hands on his hips.

_Wait..._

_This merman... This goldfish merman..._

_He has a very familiar heart-shaped ahoge..._

"Senior Riddle?!" Jonah screamed, his eye widened as he swam closer to Riddle, looking him from top to bottom. _How did he never realize this earlier? He's so dumb!_ "When did you get here?"

"Hours before you arrive," Riddle said as he took off the fabric of the uniform and throwing it to the side. "Had to knock down a guard to get this uniform." Satisfied that he was out from his disguise, he turned back to the duo, hands folded in front of his chest. "As much as I want to hear your reasoning of why you decided to dive in alone, we don't have much time. We have to go back to the surface."

Jonah and Grim exchanged a glance. The fact that the Heartlabyul somehow knew that they would try to steal the photo now and even prepared themselves in disguise was surprising. But a welcome surprise. Smiling at the goldfish, both of them nodded. "Right."

The two of them followed Riddle to the entrance, where the merturtle was still talking to the merman guard.

"I heard that mermaids are great singers. Is it true?"

"Ah, no, no. That’s just an urban legend. I remember being classmates with someone very tone-deaf."

"Ah, how interesting." The merturtle glanced to the side where Riddle was waving his hand at him. The turtle nodded at him before turning to the guard. "Well, thank you so much for the talk, Sir." He put his notebook and pen in his satchel again and offered a hand to the guard. "Hopefully, I can return again when the museum is open."

The guard nodded as he took the hand for a handshake "You are very welcome. I'm glad I can help."

Exchanging one more nod, the turtle swam toward the group and something just clicked in Jonah's mind when he saw the green hair and clover tattoo on his cheek, nearly hidden from his turtle-skin pattern. "I knew it," Jonah muttered, shaking his head and trying to hold back a smile.

Grim, meanwhile, was more vocal. "Ffgna-? Even Trey too?!"

Trey chuckled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "How’d your operation go?"

Jonah patted his pocket as Grim cheered, "We got the picture. It was so easy, yanno!"

Riddle nodded. "Alright, let’s hurry and go back to school-"

They didn't expect a sudden wave to hit Jonah on the chest, sending him crashing into the coral behind him. Trey and Riddle prepared their magical pens, glaring at an eel who pointed a magical pen at them and his twin twirling his in his hand, as Grim swam to check on his human-friend.

"Eh~? Why leaving so soon?" Floyd giggled.

Jade's glare was aimed at Jonah who swam up with the help from Grim. "It looks like you’ve managed to get a hold of the picture."

"How amazing. Good boys, good boys~ But..." Glancing back, Floyd saw Cater and Jack, looking slightly more tired from before, were still pointing their pen at the eels. Even knowing that they were surrounded, it didn't scare the twins at all. Looking back at the others, in front of him, he pointed his magical pen at the only non-merman in the group. "It’ll be troublesome if you bring that back."

Riddle swam slightly in front of Jonah. "You are not taking it away from us."

Floyd's lips twitched into a smile. "Is that a challenge, Goldfish?"

Looking at everyone around him who was willing to protect him and make sure their mission goes well, Jonah couldn't help but draw his sword, pointing it at the twins. "Everyone!" he yelled as Grim perched onto his shoulder like a parrot. "Protect the photo! Don't let them touch it!"

* * *

"Phew!" A familiar prefect laughed out loud as he slammed his cup to the table. "Hey, waiter!" He waved his hand. "Can I get another one of these gooferberry mocktails, please? It's so good."

His vice prefect who sat beside him just sighed as he took the glass from his hand. "Kalim, stop acting like you are drunk," he scolded. "Mocktail doesn't have liquor in it." Kalim just laughed out loud, giving Jamil a one-sided hug as he pulled him closer, which caused the other boy to roll his eyes.

"Kalim!"

Both of them turned to the Octavinelle Prefect who was stomping toward them. "Oh! Hi, Azul!" Kalim greeted, waving his hand.

But Azul wasn't in the mood of being nice. Even when someone accidentally bumped into him he snapped. "Hey! Watch it."

"Oh, don’t mind me~" the person giggled before walking away. Azul scoffed and rolled his eyes. He approached the two Scarabia students.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, slamming his hands to their table. "The shop just opened. You can't just make all of these ruckuses!"

Kalim titled his head to the side. "Eh? But didn't you say that we're having a party right now?"

"What?" Azul gawked as he blinked rapidly. "I didn't say anything about throwing a party."

Jamil hummed, hand on his chin as he thought of something. He nodded slightly to himself, muttering, "I always knew there's something wrong with this."

"What?" Azul turned to the vice prefect. "Explanation now."

"Whoa, there." Jamil raised both of his hands and leaned back slightly, lips curling into an amused smirk. "There's no need to rush, right?"

"Jamil, I'm not in the mood of playing around." Azul glared. "You better explain to me what the fuck is going on or else I'll kick everyone out of here."

Jamil chuckled. "How mean."

"Wait." Kalim raised his hand slightly before Azul could choke his friend. "I can explain."

Azul leaned back slightly and turned in attention to Kalim, raising his chin as a signal to start his story. Kalim sucked a breath from between his teeth as he scratched his head sheepishly. "So, last night, it was pretty late actually, I got a call."

 _That night, Kalim was trying to find his phone between the pillows on his bed. He could've sworn that he last used it on his bed before he fell asleep._ Maybe it slipped under the frame?

*bam! bam-bam! BAAAAAMMMMMM!*

 _"GAH!" Kalim nearly slipped off his own blanket._ Wait. That's his ringtone. _Following the sound, he crouched down next to the bed, finding something shiny underneath it. "Haha! Found it!" Swiping some dust off his screen, he looked at the name who called him._ Ruggie?

_Swiping the screen, Kalim brought the phone next to his ear. "Hello?"_

_["Hey there, Kalim."]_

_"Oh! Hello, Ruggie!" Kalim jumped to his bed, lying on his back. "What's up?"_

_["Oh, nothing much. Hey, does Scarabia already had their End of the Semester Party?"]_

_"Uh... No." Kalim shook his head. "We're not having a party this year. But we do have a two-week training camp."_

_["Eh, really? Trying to beat us in the next magishift."]_

_"Can't hurt to try." He frowned slightly. It wasn't that he like the idea. He thinks it's pretty good to prepare themselves early for the next semester. Though the matter of when he decided this was still a mystery._ Ah, how come he's so forgetful? _"So, why do you ask?"_

_["Well, Savanaclaw is hosting a huge End of the Semester Party and Leona was kind enough to invite all dorm."]_

_"Really?" Kalim shot up from his bed. "Scarabia too?"_

_["Especially Scarabia. You guys like celebrations, right?"]_

_"Absolutely! When is this party?"_

_["Tomorrow morning at Mostro Lounge. Just relax~ Take a break from your training and celebrate for once."]_

_"It does sound fun..." Kalim nodded, jumping off his bed as his eyes twinkled with excitement. "Alright! I'll tell everyone!"_

_["Shishishishi~ Yeah! Bring the whole dorm if you can!"]_

"When we arrived, two of your employee let us in and said to order anything." Kalim shrugged, giving a still ticked-off Azul a small embarrassed smile. "So, yeah..."

Azul frowned. "Ruggie called you... That means Leona had something to do with this-"

His eyes widened. _Oh, no..._

_"Hey! Watch it."_

_"Oh, don’t mind me~"_

_That person giggled. How was the giggle again? Damn it, if he wasn't too pissed off-_

_Wait..._

_"Shishishi~"_

"That bastard!" The prefect screamed and ran back to his office, leaving the two Scarabia students in confusion.

* * *

"Shishishi~!" Ruggie walked up to the gang who stood next to the office door. "Look what I got." He tossed the key to Leona who caught it with one hand.

"Good job, Ruggie," Leona smirked, staring at the magic key. It looked like a regular key, but no one can ignore the magic radiating from it. "Clever Octo Punk he can put a barrier at his door." Turning to the door, he inserted it into the keyhole. With a twist, the door was unlocked and the magic surrounding it disappeared.

The office was empty, like how Ace reported. Running to the safe, Ace once again took out his duplicated key and unlocked the safe. Pulling the door open, Epel, Deuce, and Ruggie stared in amazement at the amount of golden paper inside the safe. The purplenette was about to reach one, but Leona grabbed his hand.

"There are still some of the lightning charms." He took out his magical pen and waved it above the contract. " ** _[Finite Incantatem]_**." There were small sparks between the papers before it dimmed down. Leona smirked and stepped back. "Take them all."

All of them took out their plastic bag and filled them with the contracts as much as they could, not caring if it got ripped or folded. Once they are done, all of them ran out of the lounge through the side door, never get to savor the scream of the octopus.

* * *

Dread filled Azul's chest when he saw his office door was wide open. _That bastard hyena pickpocketed him! Damn it! He shouldn't have let his guard down!_

"Th-the contracts are...! Are they still–!?" Nearly slipping his steps, Azul made a mad dash into his office, nearly collapsing when he saw the safe door was also open with no contract left behind.

"FUCK!"

* * *

"We did it!" Epel cheered as the three first-years ran out of the dorm, carrying their plastic filled with contracts and laughing in their victory. "We should do this more often."

"Having fun, kid?" Leona ran up to the smallest child there. "Wouldn't Vil be disappointed?"

Epel paused. "Uh..."

Leona laughed, throwing his head back. "We have a rebel here." He ruffled the boy's purple hair. "I always like you kid." Epel beamed at this, grinning as he nodded at his magishift captain.

"Still, these are a lot of contracts," Ruggie said, lifting his heavy plastic bag slightly. "I think there’s like, five or six hundreds of these."

"He’s been testing a lot of things here and there with those contracts ever since he got here, you know?" Leona stepped in front of his group. "Alright. There's only one more thing to do."

All of them nodded as they put the plastic bags in front of Leona's feet. Taking out his magical pen, spinning it once to turn it into his staff. Slamming it to the ground, the rest of the gang stepped back as a giant magic circle appeared underneath the plastics. Leona held his staff with both of his hands and he slipped his eyes shut to concentrate his magic. " ** _[I am starvation, I am thirst. Your future I will steal and...]_** "

" ** _[OFF WITH YOUR HEAD]_**!"

"Senior Leona!"

Epel's screamed broke Leona's concentration as he felt the smaller boy shoved him aside. The boy quickly pointed his magical pen forward, screaming " ** _[Protego]_**!" as a shield formed in front of them, protecting them from the coming attack. Leona could hear Ace and Deuce letting out sounds of annoyance, of course, not taking the fact that Azul got their prefect magic lightly.

"So, you got the Red Prince’s power now," Leona commented.

Azul approached them, standing a few feet away, pointing his glowing cane at the gang. "What is wrong with you, Leona Kingscholar?" he hissed. "You are not supposed to be in this mess."

"I'll be honest. I don’t give a damn what happens to these contracts." Leona rolled his eyes. "But, it seems from how disturbed you are, that Pirate Boy's hunch was correct."

"Why are you helping him?" Azul snapped, taking one step forward, but stop when Ruggie pointed his magical pen at him. "A slothful lion like you shouldn't be helping someone who doesn't benefit you in the slightest!"

"Hey, hey, don't you judge the character by the stereotype." Leona chucked. "Some people can change, you know."

"I don't believe it."

"Clever boy." He sighed. "But, the brat was pretty convincing..."

_"It was true that all of this was partially my fault, but the damage has been done." Jonah's tone was colder, and Leona would've guessed that it was because of whatever happened between him and the Octo Punk earlier. "I just want to save my crew no matter what consequences will affect the relationship between Ashengrotto and me." Jonah finally leaned back, giving more room for Leona to breathe. "I need all the crew I can find for this last stand. But this is still your choice. You will have to pick what you are going to do now."_

_"And why is that?" Leona dared to ask._

_Jonah closed his eyes for a moment. "Because..."_

_Then, he brushed his bangs aside, revealing his strange yellow eyes with more black splotched underneath._ Leona could've sworn he saw a very dim magic circle around the red iris.

_"This is your captain's order."_

"He wasn't very specific with the order, in fact, it wasn't technically an order, but more of an offering."

"That means..." Azul's cane lowered slightly as his eyes widened in realization. "He doesn't know that you're actually helping him."

"And with you only able to read his mind, you never know what the back-up team might be planning," Leona smirked. "Had a little talk with Riddle and the plan was set."

"He took such a high-risk gamble..." Azul muttered, still completely dumbfounded at the fact that, once again, the captain was using RNG against him. _What the fuck?! What sort of luck he has?!_

"You've been out villained, Azul." Leona's gem glowed again. "And now, I can do whatever I want with this contract to win."

Azul shook his head. "N-no, please... Stop it!"

"Where was I? Ah, yes." Summoning his magic circle again, Leona lifted his staff above his head. " ** _[Bow down to me]_**!"

Azul's tried to recite his spell again, hoping that he could stop the last few seconds-

" ** _[OFF WITH YOUR-]_**!"

" ** _[KING'S ROAR]_**!"

"NOOOOOOOO!!!"

The lion slammed the staff to the ground, sending magic to the magic circle and the contract-filled plastic in front of them. Azul could only devastatingly watched as the plastic back, along with his Golden Contracts, disintegrated into dust, mixing together with the enchanted water, leaving no trace behind.

A light flicker on top of Ace and Deuce's head. The ginger-head looked up to his partner's head. "AH! Deuce, the anemone on your head’s gone!"

Deuce rubbed the top of his head, gasping slightly when he didn't feel any bump on it. He turned to Ace, smiling widely. "Yours too!"

Ace looked up to his head, happy that he's free from the blasted anemone. Deuce wiggled his fingers and curled them up. "I can feel my magic is coming back as well."

"Hey!" From the entrance, Kalim and Jamil run out, looking between the students. "We heard yelling. What's going on?"

"Ah... Ahh..." Azul fell to his knees, staring at the last glimmering light from the effect of Leona's unique magic. "My... My Golden Contracts were... All my omnipotent magic is...!" He hung his head low, staring at the ground in despair. "All of them turned to dust...!"

"You put on a good show to convince people that the contracts were invincible, but every kind of magic has its own weak point. In the end, these contracts are nothing more than paper." Leona tilted his head upward, resting his staff on his shoulder. "It's over now. You’ve lost, Azul."

"Lost?"

Azul's voice was small. His eyes widened as that single word rang through his head. _He lost... He lost... Lost lost lost lost lost lostlostlostlostlostlostlo-_

"No..." Azul curled up his fingers into fists. "No... NO...!" Underneath him, black ink started to flow out that even Leona had to step back because of the confusion. "NOOOO~~~! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!!" Azul screamed.

"O-Oi!" Ace stepped back in surprise. "H-his personality’s suddenly..."

"There's no way..." Azul shook his head repeatedly. "There's no way I'm going back to being a trashy, idiotic octopus!" He covered his ears, trying to block the ghostly laughter of children that started to ring in his mind. "I worked too hard to leave that in the past. I don’t wanna go back to what I was like before...!"

"Azul?" Kalim tried to step forward. "L-Let’s calm down a bit, okay?"

"SHUT UP!" Azul snapped his head toward the Scarabia Prefect. Jamil immediately pulled Kalim back, arm stretched in front of him in protection. "There’s no way you’ll understand how I feel!" He turned to look at everyone one by one, making sure they see the deadly glare he shot toward them. "Because, because... Because because because because because-!" He slammed his fist to the ground. "A trashy, dumb octopus like me that was always made fun of... There’s no way you’ll understand!"

He was breathing heavily. The laughter didn't stop, but another image emerged in his mind. Looking up, it was like the world disappeared, leaving Azul in a black void with a single spotlight just a few feet in front of him. A very familiar redhead suddenly appeared under the spotlight. Slowly the boy lifted his head toward Azul, giggling innocently. _Azul used to like the sound of his laughter, but was he really laughing with him? Or was he laughing at him?_ The laughter that Azul was familiar with became distorted, and the sweet giggling turned into a cruel chuckling. The very same laughter that came from the mocking children from his past.

"Ah, I see it now..." Azul muttered. "You are just like them... You guys are just a bunch of bullies who just want to play around with me..." The figure of the boy disappeared but Azul's train of thought didn't stop as he was pulled back to reality. He giggled to himself. "The answer is simple now..." His fingers twitched. "I'll show you I can do better... If it's all gone..." He snapped his eyes opened and screamed, "I just have to take more!"

Azul stretched out his hand at Ace, a magic circle forming in his palm as he shot it out toward the defenseless ginger.

"Ace!" Deuce pushed Ace out of the way, letting him get hit by the magic circle. "GAH!" Everyone's eyes widened as they watched a golden glow came out from Deuce's chest and flew back to Azul's hand.

"DEUCE!" Ace was quick to catch Deuce before his friend hit his head to the ground. Deuce was pale and gasping for air like he was in a very bad fever.

Azul smiled at the power and stretched out his hand, this time toward Leona. " ** _[Unleash]_** , **_[cauldron]_**!" A magic circle appeared in front of him and a cauldron shot out from it. Leona's eyes widened, quickly summoning a column of earth to smack the cauldron aside.

"Give it to me..." Azul slowly got up, smiling ever so widely and laughing hysterically as a magic circle came blazing beneath his feet. "Give me your precious magic!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone guess correctly about the full-fledged plan? Or did this come out as a surprise?  
> Anyway, hoo boy... I'm sweating about writing this chapter.  
> Especially in the last part. That was hard to pull out. I hope I did well on Azul's breakdown.  
> I don't know if today will be a double update because I have the dialogues ready but we'll see.


	102. Sleepy Show-Time! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A double update to tie up some final loose ends before the battle.

The game of tag was incredibly annoying in Riddle's opinion. They are wasting their time here! Just running around, keeping the Leech Twins away from Jonah. Even Riddle slowly became tired just from using too much magic. Floyd's unique magic was annoying. _He kept on reflecting on all of their attacks which he redirected to Jonah, nonetheless! If only he still has his_ Off With Your Head _, he would render that eel useless!_

_*cling...*_

It was like everyone stopped to react. "What was that light just now?" Jonah asked, looking around just like the rest of them to see where the flicker came from.

_*cling...*_

"Ah..." Riddle gasped, making everyone turn to him. His chest glowed and he felt magic flowing inside of him. He pressed his hand to his chest once the light dimmed down. _What just happened?_

"Wha-?!" Jonah turned to Grim who was rubbing the top of his head. That's when he realized that there was nothing on top of the cat's head. "My anemone's gone!"

Jonah patted Grim’s head repeatedly, lips curling into a wide smile. "It's gone! You're free!" he cheered, picking up Grim by the hips and twirled around, laughing cheerfully, not even realizing the fact that his eye once again turned green and glossed over because of the counter curse and the twins suddenly disappeared from his vision.

"Does this mean the contracts are broken?" Trey asked loud, but there was a hint of excitement in his tone.

Cater laughed. "Leona must've pulled through!"

Jade's eyes widened slightly as he turned to Cater. "...What did you say?"

"Hey, what's going on?" Floyd whined, looking back and forth at the fishes in irritation.

"After Jonah had a talk to Leona," Jack spoke up, smiling proudly. "He suddenly wanted to call Riddle..."

_"Oi, Jack."_

_"Yes?" Jack looked to the prefect. Minutes had passed since Leona told Jonah and Grim to get out and those two didn't even complain. After that, it was like Leona stopped functioning. He just kept staring at the spot where Jonah once stood until he spoke again a few seconds ago._

_"Give me your phone." Leona stretched out his hand, opening his palm to the wolf. "I need to talk with that Red Prince."_

_"Wait..." Ruggie frowned at Leona in disbelieve. "Are you..."_

_Leona gave them a sideways glare. "Do it before I change my mind."_

_Ruggie and Jack exchanged a glance. The corner of Ruggie's lips curled up as he shrugged, still confused but accepting the unexpected change. Jack took out a phone, quickly dialing up the number he often sent mail recently. A few seconds of ringing later, the other side finally picked up. ["Hello?"]_

_"Senior Trey," Jack greeted. "Is Senior Riddle with you?"_

_["Yeah. We just have some talk. Any problem?"]_

_"Senior Leona wants to speak with him."_

_["Okay...?"]_

_There was a sound of footsteps, so Jack gave the phone to Leona. "Here."_

_Picking the phone, Leona lifted it next to his ear. He could hear a small sniffling sound before Riddle's voice, which sounded hoarser than usual, came in. ["Hello?"]_

_"Oi, your boyfriend just trespassed to my room. He said he knows what's Azul's weakness is."_

_["What?"]_

_Leona stood up from his bed and started pacing around. "All of you is going to dive tomorrow again, right?"_

_["We have to, but..."]_

_The lion groaned, massaging his temple. "Look. I don't know or even care what happened earlier, but whatever it was it must've ended badly. Which means Azul would be merciless on the last day."_

_["He can't do that. He made a deal with me that he won't be able to control Jonah or the environment."]_

_Leona paused, jaws hung open. He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment to let out a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Once he calmed down, he brought the phone close again. "I'm not going to question about your deal, but the point is, that Pirate Brat is going to need all the help he can get underwater." He glanced to the other two, staring at them as if telling them to pay attention too. "In the meantime, knowing that the contract isn't actually invincible, we can find a way to steal it again."_

_["And how are you going to do that? If Azul knows that Jonah knows his weakness, he will put even higher protection to the contract."]_

_"Not if he somehow leaves them for two seconds. All we need is a very big distraction." The lion's lips curled up into a smirk. "Like a party."_

"Ruggie and I spread out the false invitation of the Savanaclaw's End of the Semester Party in Mostro Lounge today to every dorm," Cater grinned. "With that many people, the staff will be overwhelmed and Azul would have to see the chaos and get away from the safe."

"And from the looks of things," Riddle smirked victoriously at the two twins. "It seems like we've won."

"Ah..." Came from the twin eels mouth. Jonah didn't blame them. He never would've thought that Leona would actually go through the plan. He let out a small laugh. They actually managed to pull it all through. _If the contracts are destroyed, then all the anemones, not just Grim, but Ace, Deuce, and everyone else's is gone. Not only that, but that also means he's no longer bound to Ashengrotto. The prefect couldn't read his mind again. And Riddle gets his unique magic back. This is great! The table had turned in their favor. They won-_

"Gck!" The boy gripped his eyepatch, pressing it down hard. _What's... What's happening? Why does it hurt so much?_

"Jonah's what's wrong?" Grim patted his cheek softly, trying to gain his attention. But the pain was nearly unbearable.

"My eye..." Jonah gritted his teeth. "It hurts..." Winching he lifted his gaze. Nearly all of them were looking at him with confusion and worries. Jonah's eye accidentally landed on Riddle. And it clicked. _He felt this before. Back when Riddle had his breakdown during his, Ace, and Deuce. Also, before Leona disintegrated his arm. And everything led to..._

Jonah's eye widened, gasping loudly. "Ashengrotto..."

Floyd turned his head toward him. "Huh? What's wrong with Azul?"

"We need..." Jonah looked at everyone, panic started to fill his chest. "We need to go back to Octavinelle."

Floyd was impatient, unfortunately. Nobody saw him swimming past them, or when he grabbed Jonah by the neck, pushing him down to the ground. Everybody raised their gem, but Jade had placed himself between his brother and the other.

"Oi, you better explain what is going on with Azul," Floyd growled. "And I'll know if you're lying or not."

"I don't know!" Jonah screamed, trying to push away the image of Azul's angry face from his mind. "But we have to go back! Or else..."

"Or else what?" Floyd yelled, tightening his fingers.

Jonah coughed, trying to pull Floyd's hand away, but the eel was stronger than him. He could still breathe for his fish gills, but the pressure was still uncomfortable, and who knew what will happen when he turned back into a human. But he had to say this, even if he didn't want to say it, or believe it for that matter.

"I know you hate me for everything..." he wheezed, "But you... You have to trust me..." Floyd was pushing his throat harder. It hurt, a lot yes. But he had to say it. "Or... He'll overblot."

All of them were shocked. "Overblot?!" Cater gasped.

"Eek?! Again?!" Grim screamed.

Jade glanced back at Jonah. His eye was shining pleading for help. For them to trust him. He didn't look like he was lying. He would never lie, even in these three days of the contract, he was still doing this fair and square. 'A captain of his words' as he had said.

Jade turned to his brother. "Floyd."

Floyd turned his head around, staring at his twins in surprise. "But Jade-"

"Our main priority is saving Azul now," he said, "If what all of them were saying is true, then Azul's mental is very unstable now." He turned to the other students. "Let's put our differences aside for now and go back before things get even worse."

Floyd huffed. "Tch, I get it..." 

He let go of his hand and swam back, leaving Jonah panting in relief. Riddle and Grim swam toward him, helping him float again. Jonah looked up at Jade, mouthing, "Thank you." Jade just nodded, then looked at the others. "Everyone. Follow us. Our checkpoint is closer than yours."

They didn't protest, knowing that they have a bigger situation waiting for them back at school. Jade wasn't kidding when he said their checkpoint was closer. It was located in a small pathway not far from the museum, hidden in a field of seaweed. Jade stretched out his hand, summoning their portal, and chanting, " ** _[Magic Mirror, answer to me]_**. **_[Take us all to NRC]_**!"

The seaweed waved to the currents created by the portal, surrounding them as some sort of cover. When the seaweed waves slowed down, what left were bubbles.

* * *

"Your lightning magic, and that guy's athletic abilities...! Give them all to me!" Azul screamed as he shot his magic circle toward a student who stood next to Jamil and Kalim. The boy was screaming as his magic was ripped apart from his body. His magic flew back to the hysteric prefect, leaving the boy crumbling to the ground like the others, moaning in pain.

"Wh-Whoa! What is Azul doing to everyone!?" Kalim asked, looking past Jamil's shoulder who refused to let him step forward. "All of them are collapsing one after another!"

"It looks like his unique magic can take everything from someone even without signing a contract," Leona spoke up, reflecting back the magic that Azul shot toward him. "Maybe the contract itself was just used to keep the magic in control."

"Eh!? That's fucking overpowered!" Ruggie screamed.

"Forbidden magic like this is going to build up an excessive amount of blot in an instant," Jamil added, which cause Kalim to gasp.

Leona clicked his tongue. "Cih, how annoying."

Suddenly, several splashes appeared behind Azul. The diving squad, along with the Leech Twins had arrived, landing on the platform. All of them couldn't believe what they were seeing. The once beautiful blue enchanted water was now nearly black, corrupted by the ink that kept flowing from the prefect on a rampage. The amount of body that was loitering on the ground was too much. Among them, Ace looked up, still cradling Deuce in his arms.

"Captain!" Ace screamed. Jonah immediately turned toward the voice. His eye widened and he swam toward the fallen friends.

"What happened to Deuce?" Jonah asked.

"Azul took away all of his magic." Ace looked down at the weak and pale blunette. "He's barely breathing..."

"Azul!" Jade swam forward. "Just what are you doing!?"

"Ew, what's this?" Floyd kicked the black stuff away from his shoes. "What's going on?"

Recognizing their voice, Azul turned around, head titled far to the side, eyes half-opened, and a craze daze smile plastered on his lips. "Jade, Floyd, ah... You've finally come back to me." He sighed nearly dramatically and he hugged himself. "Those bastards went and destroys all of my precious contracts. That's why..." He stretched both of his hand toward them as if he was inviting them for a hug. "Please give me your magic, too." He took a shaky step forward, still smiling. "Hey, please give it to me!"

"Stop this instant!" Jade shouted. "Your _unique magic_ is too strong and to top it off, it should not work without the contract. You should know best what would happen if you do not follow the procedure!"

Azul pouted, lowering his hand to the side. "It's all gone, you know... Everything..." He snorted before laughing out loud. "There is no way in hellfire I'm going back to my old self!"

"Ya know~" Floyd stepped forward, standing next to his brother, looking pissed and disappointed at the same time. "You're way lamer now compared to your old self, Azul."

"Ah~ Is that so?" Azul tilted his head to the other side, eyes became wide. "In the end, I'm just a trashy, dumb octopus who can't do anything by himself, huh!" His voice became louder and more desperate as he summoned more magic circles. "That's why, in order to go back to my ideal self, I'll just steal everyone's magic! Beautiful singing voices, and even strong magic... All of them will be mine! Hand them over to me!"

Shooting the magic circle like a storm everyone who was lucky enough ducked, but those who are unfortunate got their magic to absorb for the prefect.

Floyd glanced down to the ground, noticing more black, mud-like stuff flowing down. He pulled Jade back but noticing how strange it was. "The hell is that?' he muttered. "Those black mud is coming out from Azul's body... It's not ink, is it...?"

"He's using his _unique magic_ too much." Jade's eyes slowly widened. "He has long surpassed the limit for blot. At this rate, he will...!"

Jonah suddenly shot up to his feet, running to the front and ignoring the scream of panic from Ace. "Ashengrotto! Stop it!" he screamed. "You will go into overblot!"

"Ah, Captain Argentum!" Azul giggled, turning around. "What's with the panic face? I thought you would be happy from this turn of event."

"What's there to be happy?!" Jonah screamed back, breath raging in both panic and anger. "You can die!"

Azul hummed in confusion. "And why do you care, Captain? Don't you hate me?"

Jonah's breath hitched as he stepped back. "I..."

"I've thrown away all my feelings toward you, Jonah." Azul's voice was monotone as he took a step forward, in which Jonah stepped back, fingers trembling to reach for his cutlass. "You are no longer significant in my life. Your petty power of friendship speech won't pull me back to your side, Argentum!"

Jonah gritted teeth. His hand now curled up around the hilt. "Then I'll just have to snap you out of your own mind by force." Ripping his eyepatch away and pulling out his silver cutlass, pointing it to Azul. "This is your captain's order! All hands on deck!"

The rest of the diving squad ran in front of the twins and took out their pen, acting as their shield, while the remaining standing lounge invasion team, ran next to the captain, brandishing their weapon once again. All of them responded in unison, "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Azul sighed, shaking his head disappointedly. "Even now, you're trying to steal what I deserve. That's so not heroic."

"Good then," Jonah smirked. "I'm always suited to be a villain."

Azul laughed hysterically, throwing his head back as if the captain just shot out a joke. The corrupted gem on his cane finally cracked a blot shot out, surrounding Azul in a tight blanket before exploded, corrupting the sea with more ink. Ace hunched down to protect Deuce, Jamil threw his on body and Kalim to the ground, even the Leech Twins were speechless and frozen in their spot. The pirate gang stood their ground, weapons ready to face their latest enemy who they used to know as Azul Ashengrotto...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overblot chapter is coming up next!  
> Hoist the sail, matey! We have a kraken to defeat!  
> (I am so scared...)


	103. Hysterical Transition! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UNLEASH THE KRAKEN!  
> *’He’s a Pirate’ blazing in the background*

The octopus in front of them had black skin except for his face, chest, and hands which were grey. Underneath his eight tentacles were filled with purple suction cups and spiky corals grew around his hips and elbow. Ink around his head formed into a shape of a crown and around his eyes it formed into a veil, ink tears dripped from his glowing left eye with purple flame. The octopus didn’t say anything as he slowly floated from the platform, giving more distance between the crew and him.

"Wha–!? Azul turned into an octopus!?" Grim exclaimed from his position in front of Ace and Deuce as if trying to protect the two boys.

"That is what Azul looks like under the sea," Jade said, knee slightly trembling because he had never seen anything like this.

Azul raised his hand to the sky and immediately brought it down, one of his tentacles shot forward and the ink made it thicker and longer. Jonah's eyes widened. "Scatter!"

Everyone jumped out of the way as the tentacles swiped at them like a whip. Using his sword to hold his ground, Jonah turned toward the first-years. "Ace! Grim! Epel! Tend the evacuation!" "Take Deuce and the other to safety!" He yelled, "Senior Asim! Senior Viper! Help them!"

"W-Will you guys be okay?" Kalim asked from his position underneath Jamil.

"We'll try." Jonah nodded at him. "Go!"

Jamil got up quickly. "Kalim, let's go!" He pulled his prefect up by the hand. The white-haired boy could only answer “R-Right!” as they started to evacuate the remaining students inside of Mostro Lounge along with Epel and Grim.

Ace looked at the captain, the look at the unconscious Deuce. Right. He had to protect him. With a bit of trouble, he managed to carry Deuce in bridal style. "You better not die, Captain!" he yelled before running inside.

Jonah could only give a small smile at him. Of course, annoyed that even now the captain managed to side with the pest, Azul shot forward, shrieking as he swam toward Jonah at a speed that even Jade and Floyd had ever seen coming from the octopus. Jonah didn’t even get to lift his sword, but Leona somehow managed to dash in front of him, screaming, “Down!” as he slammed his staff to the ground, sending an earth column into Azul’s chest forcing him to float further again.

"So, Captain." The Savanaclaw Prefect glanced back. "What's the plan?"

Jonah dug into his pocket and took out the crumpled up photo from the museum. "We need to get this photo into his hand." He slowly got up, swiping the screen of his prosthetic arm, and open the 'setting' command. "I have an idea. Everyone, cover me!"

Azul let out another shriek, sending out his tentacles and ink toward the gang. “Here he comes!” Ruggie shouted and everyone scattered. Protecting themselves with their magic and tried to keep the tentacles away from the captain. Trey’s _Doodle Suit_ was effective and he kept himself closer to Cater whose clones from his _Split Card_ are helping with the evacuation. Ruggie kept fending with his waterjet, as well as Jack with his earth shield. Leona and Riddle kept themselves close to Jonah, using their _King’s Roar_ and rose bushes. Jade and Floyd didn’t get to do much, obviously too afraid that they would accidentally hurt their boss.

It was proven to be too much with Azul able to swim around in the water while they are stuck on the platform. The octopus suddenly dove, crashing into Cater and Trey who got thrown off the platform. Both of them were screaming but Trey managed to get a hold at the edge of the platform, while his other hand is holding to Cater.

“Cater! Trey!” Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, sending vines to help his other Heartslabyul member. "Jonah! Hurry!"

"Give me ten more seconds!" Eyes kept glued on the screen, Jonah pressed the final button and his arm let out a steam-like noise, detaching the wrist. "Got it!" He took out the photo from his pocket and ran toward Jack. "Jack, I need a ride!"

"What are you going to do?" Jack asked.

"I'm going to secure the photo in Ashengrotto's hand," Jonah said. "Get me closer to him."

Jack nodded. He crouched down all four as he summoned a magic circle underneath him. " ** _[Unleash Beast]_**!" A bright light shot out from underneath the circle and the howling was heard. Jack’s body turned into the great white wolf. Without hesitation, Jonah climbed to his back and the two of them ran toward Azul.

“You need to get closer!” Leona ran forward, dragging his staff, and swung it like a golf stick, summoning some sort of circling stairway made of earth toward Azul. Jack used it, running up the stair. Jonah gripped his right arm with his left hand, closing one eye as he tried to aim it at Azul’s right hand. But the octopus kept moving around, not wanting to stop.

"I can't get a clear shot!" he screamed.

"Hold up!" Ruggie skidded to stop and stomp his feet summoning two magic circles, one underneath Azul and one for him. " ** _[Laugh With Me]_**!" Golden strings came out from the magic circle connecting both Azul and Ruggie.

"Ruggie!" Leona screamed as the hyena’s knees trembled and winching in pain for being pulled instead of him controlling. "Azul's power is too much to control!"

“Not if we secure him for a second!” Riddle slammed his staff to the ground, summoning his own magic circles for them. " ** _[Off With Your Head]_**!"

Azul’s swimming started to flatter but even Riddle was struggling to keep on. Cater turned toward his clones who had finally finished the evacuation and making sure that Ace, Epel, and the Scarabia Duo had barricaded the door. “Come on, me!”

“Yes, Sir!” All of them ran to different positions surrounding the octopus that started to sink. Pointing their magical pen at them, they chanted the same spell repeatedly. " ** _[Immobulus]_**!" Magic shot out from their pen, but a small spell wouldn’t be able to freeze the octopus in place. But they managed to somewhat control him.

With a screamed Ruggie raised his right hand, palm open, and forcing the struggling Azul to do the same like his shadow. “Jonah, now!”

Jonah nodded. “Jack, jump!” With a bark, the white wolf jumped and Jonah aimed at the open palm. "Fire away!" His right hand detached and shot itself around the hand, securing the picture in Azul’s open palm.

“Alright!” Jonah cheered. But the octopus took none of this. He screamed and a silhouette shot out from his back. A figure of a morbid obese octopoid, holding a black trident, with pale blue skin and six black tentacles. Its head was a cracked bottle of ink with a golden crown on top and a coral-like collar around its neck, along with a gold nautilus shell necklace.

The figure, under Azul's command, swung its trident, hitting everyone in its way, including Jack and Jonah who was smacked from the air and hit the ground like ragdolls. Groaning, the wolf’s body shone in white light, transforming him back as Jonah tried to get up, wincing in pain.

**_"LeT'S MaKe a dEaL. cOmE On, MaKe a dEaL WiTh mE..."_ **

Debris surrounding them started to float as the water surrounding them started to form itself into a vortex, blocking them from any escape route.

"EH?! But what's that big shadow behind him?" Floyd gasped. “There’s no way I can squeeze it.”

"Blot manifestation!" Leona said, ducking from the rock that nearly hit the back of his head. "We have to make him regain his senses."

"If we don’t, we're going to have anemones on our heads too!" Cater added, falling to his knees as he panted.

"We need to get closer." Jonah used his sword to get up. "We can't do anything if he kept floating away.”

Ruggie’s knees were trembling. He didn’t get to take one step before collapsing, panting heavily. "I'm at my limit... I can't use _Laugh With Me_ anymore..."

Riddle was gripping his staff with his two hands, wheezing in pain as well. "Sorry... That last one took all of my strength too..."

Jade looked at the tired fighters. The fact that all of them who were against Octavinelle in this whole conflict was willing to save Azul from the overblot state was something that Jade wasn’t expecting. He knew they wouldn’t get anything in return. He already had their goal of destroying the contracts and freeing the anemones. They could’ve just walked away. But instead, they chose to fight.

_Why are they doing this? Something that Jade would never understand._

_Why chose to save the villain now, when the hero usually killed them in the end?_

_He…_

_He needs to know._

"Allow us to give some assistance." Jade stepped forward, gaining everyone’s attention. "Floyd, can you make it?"

"Of course I can." Floyd spun his magical pen in his hand, looking relaxed but glaring at the blot manifestation behind Azul. "This is getting annoying."

Jonah turned his head toward them despite not being able to see them. "Alright. Everyone." He got up, pointing his sword at Azul, and shouted his command. "Give all you got!"

"Aye, aye!"

Jade and Floyd exchanged a glance, nodding at each other. Grasping each other hand, they pressed their back with each other, holding their magical pen close to their chest as they softly chant a prayer. A gigantic magic circle appeared in the area and they could hear the thunder. Looking up, they saw the water started to gather around, rolling like the clouds in the sky as it flickered like lightning. " ** _[RESONANCE DUO]_**!" the twins yelled, raising their magical pen to the air. " ** _[UNLEASH THE STORM]_**!" Lightning came out from the water, striking Azul in various places, forcing the octopus to scream. The gang started to run toward them. Leona once again summoned the stairways surrounding Azul, each of the crew ran up one of them.

Trey shot his _Doodle Suit_ to the ink that kept coming toward the other and using his ice magic to try and freeze the tentacles. Cater was doing the same with his wind magic, pushing back the tentacles from hitting them. Riddle and Ruggie jumped from the stairs, using the last bits of magic inside of them to summon their plant and water magic. Attacking together, combining their power to create a rosewater vortex, with its sweet smell managed to throw Azul off guard. Leona was the one to be able to jump close to the octopus, exchanging blows and wrestling with the frost coated tentacles, even smacking and kicking him in the face.

**_"wHy dOeS EvErYoNe bUlLy mE! bEcAuSe i'm a sTuPiD, cLuMsY OcToPuS?"_ **

Despite their boss cries, the Leech Twins kept sending the storm toward the octopus, explosions of bright shocking light hitting Azul to the point of exhaustion. Jack was back in his wolf form with Jonah riding him on the back, holding his cutlass and gripping the wolf’s fur for balance with one hand. Blinking, he could sense that Azul was getting weaker. “Jump, now!” Jonah screamed and Jack did, jumping from the stairway. Jonah jumped off Jack, who pounced at Azul on the chest.

**_"i jUsT WaNt tO Be sTrOnG AnD ShOw tHeM ThEy'rE WrOnG...! i... I JuSt..."_ **

Jonah landed on top of Azul, feet on his chest and stomach as he raised his sword high above his head. Everyone stared at him in dread, waiting for the final blow. Jonah’s lips move without a sound, but Azul was able to decipher it.

In the last second, as the sun slowly set, and Jonah's eye once again turned from green to black, disabling his counter curse, he brought his sword down, breaking the veil that surrounding the flaming eyes and releasing the ink. Azul screamed as both of them came crashing to the ground, blot escaping from his eyes and releasing him from his corrupted form. The ink hit Jonah in his right eye, absorbing all of its power and throwing him back, but Jonah was too tired to comprehend that. Not to mention water started to fill his lung again. How ironic that the last place he drowned was in enchanted breathable water.

With the last of both of their consciousness, Jonah’s hand slipped from his sword, flying to a direction he didn’t care. Leona was the one who managed to catch him before he hit the floor. Jade pointed his magical pen at Azul, creating the prefect in a pillow-like ball of water.

Azul, meanwhile, tried to reach for the boy, wanting to hear the last words before the world around him become dark.

_“I’m sorry.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked my brother for suggestions about the final battle and he said ‘Final Fantasy XV Leviathan battle. It turns out pretty good actually, at least I tried my best to compress a one-person 23 minutes battle into one chapter with nearly 9 characters in it.  
> And now the flashback episode. Ah, geez…


	104. Melancholic Octopus Pot! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jonah entered Azul's memory lane.

He was sinking upside-down when he regained his consciousness. The sea was dark but he could see a shipwreck on the ocean floor. Gasping, he realized that he could breathe underwater. _Is this like with Senior Riddle and Leona? Why does he keep ending up in this place after their overblot battle?_ Craning his neck, he squinted his eyes when he noticed something shining on the deck of the ship. Twisting his body, Jonah swam down toward the ship. If this wasn't just a strange 'dream maze' (or whatever these places are, he wasn't sure himself), he would choose to explore the ship. It was massive, with a high mast and wide deck. It was a shame that was sunken at the bottom of the ocean.

Finally reaching the ship, he noticed the shining thing was underneath the stair. Reaching for the thing, Jonah could feel the moss between his fingers. With some quick wipes, it turned out to be some sort of a golden seashell-shaped locket. There wasn't any name written on it but it just wouldn't stop shining in his hand.

Shrugging, Jonah opened the seashell-locket and bright yellow light out from it, so bright that Jonah had to close his eyes. Dimly, he could hear the sound of children laughing. Opening his eyes, the ship is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found himself in some sort of underwater schoolyard.

"Azul~"

The voice, but more specifically the name, caused Jonah to turned his head. There was a group of merchildren peering over the shoulder of an uncomfortable-looking young octopus.

"What are you reading all by yourself?" asked one of the children. Before Ashengrotto could answer it, the same kid snatched the book from his hands.

"H-Hey!"

"What the heck is this?” The merchild flipped the pages, scrunching his nose. “This doesn't make sense at all."

"G-Give it back!" Ashengrotto swam forward but the kid swam away, raising the book above his head, far from the octopus’ reach.

"Catch!" he laughed, throwing the book to another merkid who caught it with her two hands. Ashengrotto gasped and swam toward her instead, but he passed it to her friend. "Here!"

Once again, Ashengrotto tried to catch it but the boy tossed it back to the first kid. "Pass!"

The first boy caught it, a bit too hard which caused the paper to get scrunched up in his hand. "Ah! Oh no... It got folded." Looking up at the shocked expression of Ashengrotto, the kid’s lips curled into a smirk. "You can't read it anymore."

Ashengrotto’s eyes widened as he watched the kid held the book with his two hands. "P-Please, stop it!"

"What a waste~!"

"Stop!"

The octopus swam forward but even before he could reach for his book, the merkid pulled it apart, ripping the book into two. Ashengrotto’s jaws hung open, slowly floated down until his tentacles touched the sand below him. The poor octopus hung his head low, sobbing quietly as the children laughed. Water surrounded them started to turn black from the ink he unconsciously sprayed out.

"Eww~! Azul just peed up ink!" Azul's head snapped up, teary eyes popped out and he was trembling from fear and embarrassment.

One of the merkid pinched her nose like she just smelt trash. “Gross!” she whined. “You just pollute the water, dummy!”

The kid that ripped the book swam closer and pulled one of Ashengrotto’s tentacles. The octopus cried out loud but the kid didn’t care. "Why don't you just get rid of some of them!" he sneered. "You'll swim faster!"

Azul hiccupped. "Wh-Why would you say that...?"

"Try to catch us then!" the kid let go of the tentacle and flipped his fin, smacking Ashengrotto on the cheek. The poor, lonely baby octopus kept crying on the ocean floor as ink kept coming out from himself. Something tugged Jonah's heart. He didn't know how to feel really. He knew this is Ashengrotto, the same Ashengrotto who had hurt him and the others. But looking at the baby octopus in front of him, he couldn't help but feel sorry.

Jonah tried to swim closer, reaching out his hand to touch his silver hair. But it was as if Ashengrotto noticed him. The baby octopus turned around and swam away, shooting ink in front of his face. Jonah held his breath and protected his face. When the ink finally disappeared, Jonah lowered his arms, finding himself back at the shipwreck, the locket turned into sea foam. Jonah brought his hand to his chest, scrunching his shirt to stop the pain swelling inside and it was not because of the multiple drowning incidents.

 _That was horrible… How could some children be that terrible? Azul did nothing wrong, yet those kids kept messing with him._ Jonah bit his lip, a horrible fact just appeared in his thought. _Did Ashengrotto felt the same way, if not worse, when Senior Leona destroyed those contracts? Oh, he probably saw them just like those kids._

_*creak…*_

Turning around, he saw a door opened by itself not far from him. With that as his only clue, Jonah swam toward it, entering the room. It was a big room, with a big window just across the door. On the side of the room, there was a desk it a book on top of it. Swimming to the desk. He saw that there was a fork inside it. _Did someone use it as a bookmark?_

Opening the book at the part that was fork-marked, he was surprised that it was upside down. He was about to flip it when suddenly a patch of silver hair shoved itself between the book and Jonah. Jonah swam back, realizing that his surrounding changed again. They were in a lonely underwater junkyard, surrounded by various trash that land-dwellers threw carelessly in the sea. Ashengrotto was hiding inside a giant clay pot. Well, not necessarily hiding. There were many books, some were high school level, that he managed to fit inside the pot. The baby octopus was writing something serious on his book with his white fishbone pen.

Twin shadows swam above him. Looking up, Jonah saw a pair of eels swimming closer to the jar. One of the eels landed on top of the pot, looking inside upside down. "Hey, little octopus~" he giggled, startling the octopus. "What are you doing hiding inside that little octopus pot?"

Ashengrotto pouted. "Shut it," he muttered, looking back to his book. "Just leave me alone."

The other eel peered in, scanning at the opened book next to the mouth of the pot. "Amazing..." he said, eyes widened in interest. "There’s a lot of spells and curses. Magic to shapeshift, and even magic to steal someone’s voice..." His gaze shifted to the twitching tentacles. "Have you been using those eight legs to write all these?" The eels reached forward, but the octopus quickly snapped his head toward him, pulling back his tentacles.

"Don’t touch them!" he screamed, popping out from the pot, making the eel swam back. "Do you get inked?"

The eels exchanged a glance at each other before looking back to the octopus, tilting their head to the side. "Why do you keep studying?" asked the eel that Jonah was sure was Senior Floyd.

"Hmmph! If you must know!" Ashengrotto pointed his pen at the twins. "I’m gonna keep studying and become just as powerful as the Sea Witch! I'll show you all that I'm not a stupid octopus!" He blew a raspberry at him before ducking back to his pot, flipping the page to write a new spell. "So, just go away!"

A few moments of silence later, Jade tugged his brother's hand, motioning him to leave the place. As they swam past Jonah, he could hear them whispering.

"That octopus is pretty funny, huh, Jade~"

"Indeed, Floyd. I admit I am intrigued."

Turning around to watch the twin swam away, the room suddenly changed back to the empty room, the book on the desk also burst into sea foam. _So, the twins weren’t really childhood friends like Senior Trey, Riddle, and Che’nya? Looking to the future, they do act more like boss and employee rather than good friends. Was it wrong?_

_*creak.*_

“Huh?” Looking down, he saw the wooden floor underneath him started to crack-

_*BRAK!*_

“Whoa!” Jonah was right on time to swim away just when the floor collapsed on the spot he once stood. _Was he supposed to go in there_? With a shrug, Jonah dove down the hole. The room this time was filled with barrels, probably used to be filled with drinks, and empty crates. Looking through the room he couldn’t find anything interesting. _Where is the next clue?_ Then, he looked into one of the crates. This time he found something: a pipe for smoking. Picking it up, he brought it close to his face. It wasn’t anything special, but then again, the locket and the book revealed something. _It worth trying._

Bringing it to hip lip, ignoring everything about hygiene, Jonah blew through the pipe. Black smoke came from the hole, sending him into a coughing fit. Waving his hand to get rid of the smoke, Jonah once again found himself in a school area. This time it was on the side of the building.

There was a mermaid sitting there, tail pulled close to her chest. It seemed like she was crying. Jonah swam close to her. _What happened?_

"Poor sweet child…"

Both he and the mermaid looked up. There floated Ashengrotto, looking more similar to his college appearance than the chubby baby octopus from the two visions before. The octopus swam closer to her, lips curled into a smile. "It seemed that you have a problem..."

"You are-"

"Ah! How sad..." he wooed, pressing the back of his hand on his forehead. "What will your parent say when they hear that their daughter is a gambling addict and has been stealing their money? How tragic..."

The mermaid’s eyes widened, obviously surprised. _How did the octopus know her problem? Had he been spying on her?_

"Oh, wait,” Ashengrotto paused for dramatic effect, fingers on his chin. “There is a way."

The mermaid gasped. "W-What?"

"I know this one spell to make you really lucky." He folded his hand behind his back and turned around. "You might hit the jackpot and get all your money back."

"Y-You can do that?"

Chuckling, he made a dramatic spin. "Why, Madam~ That's what I do!" Snapping his fingers, a golden paper appeared in front of the mermaid’s face. "But, it doesn't come in free." Ashengrotto swam close to her, giving a white feather in her hand. "What will you give me in exchange?"

Before she could answer, the contract shone brightly and the scenery changed. This time, it was inside a school hallway. Looking up, he could see a pair of teenage eels swimming on both sides of the octopus who was busy reading a book.

Floyd pulled his lollipop from his mouth before saying, “I heard that the chubby mermaid from the other class got super skinny and even got a girlfriend~”

“In exchange, his beautiful tenor has turned really hoarse now,” Jade added.

Ashengrotto didn’t look up from his book. “Is that so?”

Jade spoke again, “I also heard that the mermaid from the other class who has frizzy, unruly hair now has silky, blond.”

Floyd nodded. “But, they lost their huge tail so they can’t swim fast anymore.”

Ashengrotto raised an eyebrow as he flipped a page. “Oh, I see.”

Jade chuckled, shaking his head, amused how the octopus was able to sound not interested. “Hey, Azul. This is all your doing, isn’t it?”

This time, Ashengrotto glanced at Jade, confused, but there was a twinkle of playfulness in them. “Me? What made you say that?”

“I can’t imagine any of those airheaded fish being able to pull off such impressive spell,” Jade said.

“You’ve been studying magic all this time, y’know, Little Octopus~” Floyd giggled, folding his hand behind his head.

Ashengrotto was silent for a moment before he snorted. The small giggles turned into full-blown laughter. “Oh, dear… I can’t believe I’ve been found out so easily,” he said, wiping the tear at the corner of his eye.

“So, we’re right?” Floyd asked, tone high in interest.

Ashengrotto excitedly nodded. “Yes, you are. I have finally perfected it.” He swam ahead, facing the twins with a wide smile on his face. “This magical contract. As long as they sign it, I can have whatever magic or skill it is that they’re so proud of. And I call it... ‘ _It’s a Deal_ ’!”

He giggled once again, bringing the book close to his chest as he spun around, tentacles spread out. “With this, I will make them bow down to me with this magic. Everything you’ve ever taken pride in is now mine!”

The laughter was the last thing Jonah remembered before bubbles filled his vision, bringing him back to the sunken ship and the pipe poofed out from his hand. Jonah sighed, curling his fingers. The fact that Ashengrotto built his _unique magic_ in a way to get back from those who had done him dirty just didn’t sit well with him. But at the same time, he remembered how Senior Cater once mentioned that someone’s _unique magic_ can appear in their desperate time. Maybe Ashengrotto was really desperate to be better than everyone. He didn’t want anyone to see him as the crybaby octopus he was known for during his childhood.

Finally looking up, the once empty wall now had a hole in it and Jonah knew he needed to go there. Entering the hole, he realized that he wasn’t in a ship anymore. Instead, he was inside a grotto, the walls were similar to shelves that had bottles of various kinds, all of them attached with a Golden Contract. Inside the bottle, showed a small movie of the person and Ashengrotto signing a contract, like those bottles hold the memories of each exchange.

The only light source came from the hole above the grotto. Light shining down like a spotlight. And at the center of it, there he was. Ashengrotto in his human form, surrounded by empty contracts, knees pulled up to his chest and forehead rested on them.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out from his mouth, Jonah swam forward. He knelt in front of Ashengrotto, careful not to step on any of the contracts. “Ashengrotto,” he tried to call.

Ashengrotto lifted his head. It was clear that he was tired of everything. The Octavinelle Prefect scoffed. “Leave me alone.”

Jonah shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“What? You want to make fun of me too?” he spat. “Now that I don’t have any contract left, I will return to that trashy, idiotic octopus.”

“You really think that of yourself?” Jonah asked, keeping his voice gentle.

“Nobody wants to befriend with me back then.” He lowered his head again. “In the end, everyone will leave me. They will laugh at me again.” He sniffled. “Even you.”

Jonah bit his lip. He let out a sigh. Gently, he grabbed Azul’s hands, slightly frowning when the prefect flinched against his touch. He wanted to pull away, but Jonah had him in a tight grip. “I know that I’ve been a big bully in your eyes,” he said. “And I won’t deny that I’ve done horrible things toward you. But I need you to listen to me.”

Slowly, Jonah pulled both of them to swim upward. Ahsengrotto was obviously surprised. Still holding hand, they slowly spun around as if they were dancing as Jonah continued to speak. “I know you might think that you’re just a clumsy octopus without those contracts, but try to remember everything that you’ve done.”

Jonah smiled softly at him. “Even without those contracts, you're way better than you give yourself credit for.” Before Ashengrotto could retort, Jonah continued, “Sure we became friends because I have to pay my debt, but if it’s just because of that, I would never enjoy my times spent with you. I sometimes even forget that I signed a contract.” He sighed. “So, please…”

He pulled Ashengrotto closer, pressing both of their foreheads. “If you ever think lowly at yourself, just remember that I see you, many of us see you, as something greater.” He pressed his lips to Ashengrotto’s forehead before whispering one last time as the light dimmed down in the grotto.

“Azul Ashengrotto… You are one of a kind…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I feeling soft?  
> Not gonna lie, this is way harder than the last two, because this is very intimate...  
> The angst train still continue.


	105. Clean, Ominous Feeling! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember that this is a cute scene in canon?  
> I'm going to destroy that.

His head was throbbing when he finally regained consciousness. Slowly opening his eyes, he groaned at the light that hit the corner of his eyes. Throwing his arm over his eyes for a moment, he could finally make sense of his surroundings. He was back in the infirmary in his usual bed near the window, the moon was shining down at him. He moved slowly, just in case the dizziness came back, sitting up on his bed and scrunching his eyes. He heard footsteps coming toward him and a hand on his shoulder, keeping him steady.

"Jonah?" _That was... Grim, right?_

"Glad you're awake, Captain." _And that was... Ace..._

_Wait... Ace and Grim is here... The moon is shining..._

"NO!" Jonah scooted back quickly, panics filled his face as he stretched out his hand, pushing the cat away by the face. Grim grunted as he was pushed away with the sudden strength. He didn't register when he was at the edge of the bed- "Wha-!"

"Jonah!"

Ace didn't get to reach for the captain when he fell out of the bed Jonah scooted back until his back hit the wall behind him. When Ace and Grim tried to get close to him, Jonah shook his head and screwed his eyes shut, whining loudly as his hand reached for his face, squeezing his mouth and nose together. _Is he drowning again? He felt pain in his chest. The air was trying to get out of his lung again. No no no no! He can't die! Not yet! Not Now!_

"What's going on?"

"I don't- We don't- He just starts screaming-"

"Jonah, you have to breathe!"

_Why is everything sound so muffled? Is he underwater? Is he really going to die like this?! Someone-! Anyone-!_

"Out! OUT! ALL OF YOU!"

_Who... Who is that this time? Another anemone? He'll die surely-_

A gentle gloved hand suddenly brushed his bangs aside, followed by a deep, yet soft voice. "Shh... Shh... You're safe. You're safe."

_Is he really? No, no. He's not in his room. He's not safe. An anemone will see him and he'll drown-_

"You're not going to drown, Mister Argentum," the voice said again, cutting through the heavy headache. "It's okay to breathe."

He felt a hand reached for his hand on his face. He shook his head wildly, but the hand was gentle enough to pry his fingers. The hand guided his own to someone's chest, pressing it until Jonah could feel the heartbeat under the three pieces of suit.

"That's right, My Boy. Breath. Follow me and feel my chest. You can do it."

Breathing felt like the most difficult job in the world. He was choking in tiny mouthfuls for the next few minutes until, finally, his chest started to loosen and he was able to gulp in more air. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The headmaster was kneeling in front of him, one hand on his shoulder while the other is pressing his own left one on his chest. They stayed there until Jonah's panic finally left his body. He was still shaking and exhaustion started to settle in. He couldn't help but let his forehead fall on Crowley's chest as the headmaster's hands moved to cradle him closer.

"I'm sorry..." Jonah whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Mister Argentum." The headmaster ran his hand gently behind his head to calm him down. "Tired?"

Jonah nodded weakly. The headmaster let out a low, but harmless, chuckle. "Let's tuck you in, Little Pirate."

* * *

"Panic attack." Leona sighed, leaning against the wall near the infirmary door and crossing his arms in front of his chest. The headmaster had told them not to follow as he carried the pirate boy back to his room in the Teacher's Tower. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he has PTSD now."

Riddle glared at him. Trey and Cater were ready to hold Riddle back just in case another fight was unleashed. "You shouldn't be joking about mental health."

"But am I wrong though?" Leona glanced at the shorter prefect. "You've seen him nearly die many times these past few days. It would be a miracle if he still wants to go swimming."

Riddle looked down to his feet, knowing well enough that Leona was right. Jonah had experienced more close-call with death than any of them combined. This whole week had been traumatizing for all of them, but mostly for Jonah and Azul.

Leona sighed and stepped away from the wall. "Give him time."

Riddle raised his head again. "What?"

"He gave us days off as well back then, right?" Leona put a hand on Riddle's shoulder. "Give him time to recover and process everything. In the meantime, you should be packing."

"Packing?"

"We're supposed to be out of the school by Saturday. Wassailia break."

Riddle nearly forgot about that. After everything that had happened, the End of the Semester Good-Bye Tea Party felt like a thing in the past. _It was supposed to be on Saturday morning, right? How could he forget?_

Leona walked away from the empty hallway, with Ruggie and Jack following behind him. Jack paused for a moment, looking at the Heartslabyul Prefect who was deep in thought. But the reassuring nod from Trey was enough to know that the senior would take care of him. As the wolf boy followed the prefect, the greenette gently put a hand on hand on the redhead, pulling him out from his thought. "Riddle?"

Riddle took a deep breath and sighed. "Let's head back to the dorm," he whispered. "I need to prepare for the party."

"What about Ace?" Cater asked. After the headmaster had left with Jonah, Ace returned to the infirmary with Grim, saying that they (mostly Ace) wanted to wait until Deuce wakes up.

"I'll let it slide this time," Riddle said, glancing at the closed infirmary door. "Deuce will need someone to help him once he wakes up."

Trey nodded, pulling Riddle into a one-sided hug. "I'll make you some milk tea before bed." Riddle could only numbly nod.

* * *

**Dawn of a New Day - Friday, 10th December**

* * *

Azul woke up with a loud gasp, shooting up into a sitting position. The dizziness instantly hit him, making him nearly throw up whatever was left in his stomach. "Azul..." A pair of hands held his shoulders, grounding him to reality. Blinking several times, he glanced to the side. Jade and Floyd were looking over him. Azul noticed bandages in several places. _What happened to them?_

"It seems you're still out of it," Jade said. One hand left his shoulder and moved in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Azul squinted his eyes. "Umm... Eight?"

Jade hummed. He turned to his brother. "Floyd, can you call Kalim here? We're gonna need a healer."

"Okay," Floyd nodded, without a trace of childishness in his voice, taking out his phone from his pocket to dial the Scarabia Prefect who, being a light-magic user, volunteered as the medic in the aftermath of the battle.

Jade pushed Azul back down to the bed, pulling the blanket until it reached the prefect chin. "Just rest. The overblot took a lot of you."

_Overblot?_

_"I'm sorry."_

"Wait-" He tried to get up again, but Jade pushed him down again. Azul was too weak to protest. "Jonah. What happened to him?"

The twins exchanged a glance before turning back to Azul. "He will be fine."

Azul frowned. "Will be?"

"We haven't visited him," Floyd huffed. "Goldfish and the others wouldn't let us see Baby Seal."

Azul sighed. _It was obvious why. They had hurt him, all of them. No wonder Riddle would be protective._ He tried to clench his hand when he realized it was covered by something metal. Frowning, Azul pulled his hand close to his face. His right hand, from his wrist to his fingers was covered by a futuristic metal glove.

_Wait... No..._

_This is Jonah's prosthetic hand, isn't it?_

He tapped on it and suddenly it let out a steam-like hissing sound as it slowly widened. Azul slipped his hand off the hand/glove, dropping something to his blanket.

"What is this?" Azul asked out loud.

The twins got closer. Floyd's eyes widened and his lips curled into a smile. "Aha~ This takes me back," he cheered. "This was the picture we took when we went on a field trip, right~?" He pointed near the corner of the photo. There were two young eels, one is hugging the others around the neck as they smiled at the camera. "See? That's me and Jade. And..." His fingers traced the picture, just slightly to the corner where a baby octopus could be seen. "That's you, Azul~"

"NO!" Azul sat up, scrunching the picture into a ball, and threw it to the floor. "No no no no no!"

Jade and Floyd could do nothing as Azul buried his face into his palms. "I don't want to see it... I'm different now... I'm not that octopus..."

Soft sobs could be heard from the prefect. The twins exchanged a glance before getting closer to Azul, sitting on both sides of the prefect. Jade pulled him closer, resting Azul's head on his shoulder and his chin pressed against the top of the silvernette's head. "We're relieved that you're okay, Azul."

Floyd nodded, nuzzling into Azul's hair as well, hand patting comfortably on the prefect thigh. "You don't need to go back to your pot, Baby Octopus."

Azul could only shake his head as he sobbed, his hands cradling the metal glove on his lap.

* * *

Kalim opened his eyes once his magical pen dimmed. He had been running around from dorms to dorms to help Nurse Spencer in the first-aid procedure since the infirmary was too full from all that was affected by Azul's magic-sucking power, so most of the victims were resting in their own dorm room. Azul was one of them (also for another safety precaution, just to make sure someone doesn't harm him in revenge). "I think you'll be fine for a moment," he said.

Azul hummed as he nodded. "Thanks, Kalim."

Kalim grinned at him. "No problem." He turned to the twins. "I'll be off now."

Waving his hand, Kalim walked out. Floyd waved back while Jade just nodded before turning back to the prefect laying on the bed. "Azul, you need anything?"

"I'll be fine." Azul shook his head. "You guys can go ahead."

"Alright. We'll let you rest." Jade gave his blanket a small pat before standing up from the chair, followed by Floyd who stood up from the bed. "If you need anything, just call us."

Azul hummed again. "Thanks, you two."

Once Leech Twins were out of his room, Azul sighed, throwing his arm over his eyes. He had so many things to think about. _What would happen next now that he had nothing left?_ He knew nobody would be happy with him, but he could count this as lucky since they were nearing the final day of school. Octavinelle wouldn't get their End of the Semester Party after all of this. Not to mention all the anemones and the captain's crew would probably hate him by now.

He sighed again. _The captain..._

His phone on his nightstand rang. Reaching for the small device, Azul looked at the number on the screen. His eyes widened and he shot up into a sitting position, quickly swiping the screen and bringing it close to his ear.

["Good evening, Mister Ashengrotto."]

_The captain-_

["Don't bother to answer."] Azul closed his mouth again, listening to the boy across the line. ["I don't know if the curse works through the phone or not."] _He could fix this, just let him-_ ["You better listen carefully, because I won't be repeating."] His breath hitched. _This is the exact same thing that he said days ago. Would he use it against him?_

Unknown to him, Jonah was sitting on the floor next to the Octavinelle Mirror, bringing his arm close to him as he spoke through the phone app. "I just want to say... I'm sorry." Jonah sighed as Azul blinked in confusion. "I know I've hurt you so much. I know I've said things that really hurt you feeling, huh? I admit. All of this mess is partially my fault and I'm not really surprised if you don't want to forgive me."

Azul shook his head. He wanted to say something but he didn't know what. No voice came out from his parted lips. Jonah sniffled, his voice started to crack. "Well, it's a good thing that we have the holiday after this, right? You'll be glad that you don't have to see me for a while." He let out a tearful chuckle. "It's okay. I need to think some things through as well." He wiped his teary eyes. It was no different to Azul who started to tear up. "So, I guess... Have a safe trip home. And maybe you can take care of that hand if you don't mind? It's okay if you don't want to. You can always drop it back at Ramshackle Dorm."

Jonah sighed again. "I don't know if the kids around your neighborhood are still giving you a hard time like what I did." Azul's eyes widened. _How did he know about that?_ "But, you have to remember, Azul Ashengrotto." A gentle smile grazed Jonah's lips despite he was crying. "You're one of a kind."

_Those words..._

_"Azul Ashengrotto... You are one of a kind..."_

Jonah sniffled again. "Goodbye for now."

_No no no no. Jonah-_

Before Azul could even say anything, the other line cut off. "Please..." Tears dripped to his blanket as he lowered his phone from his ears and hung his head low. _Please... He needs to hear that voice again... Jonah... Don't stop talking... Don't leave him again..._

* * *

When Kalim finally walked through the Octavinelle Mirror, he nearly screamed when he found a body near the mirror. _Is someone dead? On his shift?!_

"Hey...?" Kalim nudged the person's shoes and the guy lifted his head. Kalim frowned. "Jonah?"

The younger boy turned his head toward Kalim. His eyes were red and his cheeks were puffy. "Senior Asim?" _Geez, he even sounded miserable._

"Are you okay?" Kalim crouched down, pressing his palm to Jonah's head. "Feeling dizzy?"

Jonah shook his head. "Just had to call someone."

Kalim hummed. Looking at Jonah then glancing back to the Octavinelle Mirror. He had some guesses... "Hey." He patted his shoulder, smiling at the boy. "How about I take you to Scarabia for some warm milk?"

Jonah blinked in confusion. "There's no need-"

"Nope. You need it." Kalim pulled him up before stepping so he stood behind Jonah, pushing him lightly to the Scarabia Mirror. "Come on. I'll ask Jamil to make you some laddu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't exactly know how to write a panic attack, so forgive me if I make a mistake.  
> Told you the angst train continue.


	106. Momentous Homecoming! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Mom says it's my turn to make the bad decision."  
> \- Jonah Argentum

Jamil was used to it whenever Kalim brought back a new friend to the Scarabia Lounge, whether it's for a study group or just hanging around. Though, the guest this time was someone Jamil has been interested in. The small redhead, the magicless child whose pet cat burnt Kalim's butt (which Jamil swore he wasn't laughing at that) known as the 'Captain of Ramshackle', as many would point out. Many rumors mentioned that the boy was always there when terrible things happen. _Could it be that he brings bad luck or is he the savior?_ He had seen the battle during the Octavinelle rampage, even if it's just a glimpse. It was a pretty intense battle and it was a miracle that all of them survived that.

Carrying the tray with two mugs of warm milk and a plate full of laddu, Jamil knelt on the carpet putting the tray between his prefect and his guest.

"Thank you, Jamil!" Kalim cheered, picking up the mugs before offering one of them to the captain. "Here."

"Umm... Thank you," he muttered, accepting the mug.

"So, what happened?" Kalim asked as Jamil sit next to him, genuinely interested in the captain tale. "You were there back when Senior Ashengrotto overblotted right?"

The captain winched. "Well... He and I had pretty bad fights leading up to that." Glancing down at his hand, Jamil noticed the way his hand clutched the mug tighter. "I... I don't really want to go in detail."

Kalim tilted his head to the side before smiling. "Don't worry if you're not comfortable telling it. We're not that close, so telling your whole life problem to a stranger might be weird."

The captain let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, we need some time off from each other until we feel better and start to talk again. So, this school break might be a good thing." He then frowned slightly before looking between the two of them. "You're not going home?"

Kalim shook his head, while the smile on his face slipped slightly. "Nah. We have a two weeks training camp since the beginning of December."

"We didn't get a place in the Magishift Tournament. And then the test result came out and it wasn't too good," Jamil added. "Maybe this training camp can boost the member's morale."

Kalim grinned at the explanation. "Yeah. Like what Jamil said." He popped a laddu into his mouth, humming at the sweet taste, before continuing, "We only have a few days left. It'll end next Wednesday and everyone can go back home for Wassailia."

The captain perked up at this. "Wassa what?"

Jamil and Kalim blinked in confusion before exchanging a glance at one another and back to the captain. "You don't know what Wassailia is?" Jamil asked.

Frowning, the captain shook his head. "Is it a school event?"

Kalim gasped loudly. He put his glass to the floor before crawling to the captain (Jamil had to grab the mug before Kalim accidentally kick it), invading his personal space. "It's a wintertime holiday!" Kalim said excitedly. "During Wassailia, families celebrate each other's company by giving gifts, decorating a tree, having a large meal, and lighting a ceremonial candle."

A small smile grazed the captain's lips. "Hee~ Sound cozy..."

Kalim nodded. "Are you gonna come home for Wassailia?"

"Umm... I..." The captain averted his gaze, chuckling softly. "I don't have any plan yet." He then perked up as if he just got struck by an idea. "Hey. Since I have nothing to do for the next few days, how about I join your training camp?"

"What?"

"Oh, that will be fun!" Kalim cheered, completely overshadowed Jamil's reaction. Kalim pulled the captain into a one-sided hug. "It'll be like a sleepover!"

"Kalim-"

"I can help you around," the captain added. "Maybe make some energizing smoothie after some workout."

"That sounds delicious!" Kalim turned to Jamil, eyes widened like a puppy. "Come one, Jamil! It'll be great to have a helping hand."

Jamil could feel the upcoming headache. Once again, Kalim is deciding things completely unexpected. Granted, this time, it wasn't his idea, but can't just go with it without even thinking about what could happen. Again, they don't know the captain well. How could they be sure that he wouldn't do things like spoiling their strategy or-

_Wait. What was that?_

Staring back at the captain, Jamil could see a glimpse of something yellow underneath the bangs. _That is his eye, right? But his left eye is black, how come his right one is yellow. Does he have heterochromia eyes like the Leech Twins? But then, why does he..._

"Jamil?"

Kalim was snapping his fingers in front of his face until Jamil finally shook his head. "Eh, what?"

"You snoozed out for a second there," Kalim frowned, worriedly.

"Sorry." Jamil stared back at the captain who was also blinking as if he just woke up. He sighed. "I think it'll be fine for you to join."

Both boys started at Jamil in disbelieve. "Really?" Kalim asked, lips twitching in happiness.

Jamil shrugged. "I see no harm in it."

Kalim cheered as the captain thanked him. _How curious..._

_Maybe the boy can be useful for their problems..._

* * *

It felt like ages since Jonah stood in front of the Ramshackle Dorm despite knowing that he had been here two days ago. But actually entering Ramshackle Dorm had this certain fear in his chest. _What if he drowns again? Just stepping into Octavinelle territory would make his chest tighter and water would fill his lung and he couldn't breathe and nobody can save him and-_

A sudden hand on his shoulder left him gasping, followed by a voice. "Stay steady, Little Star."

Looking up, he saw the boy with the horns. Horned Dude, a soft smirk grazed his lips. "I assumed that you've beaten Ashengrotto."

Jonah sighed. "I wouldn't call this a victory," he muttered. "It doesn't feel like one."

Horned Dude hummed. His hand moved higher, reaching for Jonah's chin, keeping his face staring at his. "Strange. For a pirate captain to have mercy against his enemy," he said. Acutely, Jonah could hear the sound of the gate opening. "You always have a soft spot toward others."

The smaller boy frowned. "You talk like you know me well."

"No." Horned Dude shooked his head stepping forward, pushing Jonah with him. The boy could feel his heart racing faster. _Where are they going? No no no. He can't breathe. He can't-_

Horned Dude's thumb caressed his cheek to ground him. The taller boy smiled. "On the contrary, your presence is very hard to be ignored, Little Star."

Jonah frowned. "I've always wanted to ask this," he said, slightly gasping. "Have we met before?"

Horned Dude glanced up before staring back at him. "What will you do if I tell you?"

"Every clue is important, isn't it?" Jonah was relieved that his voice was steadier. "If I want to find my buried treasure I need to know everything that may be related to it and follow the trail. If you have anything about my past, please, feel free to share it with the rest of the crew."

"How interesting," he chuckled. Suddenly they stopped. Horned Dude's hand slipped off from his face. "But I think it's better if learn how to walk again. As amusing as watching terrified villain, it would be bad if they can't even stand on their ground."

Horned Dude stepped away and Jonah already missed the warmth on his back. It was then he realized that the ground underneath him was made out of wood. Looking down, he found himself standing on the steps of the Ramshackle Dorm while Horned Dude was still on the pathway. Tapping his shoes, making sure that the stair was real, Jonah reached for his chest. _It didn't hurt. He wasn't drowning. He's safe? Senior Ashengrotto has no control of Ramshackle Dorm anymore?_

Horned Dude chuckled, making Jonah stare back at him. "Now then, good night to you, Little Star." With a nod, he disappeared, leaving a trail of green fireflies. Jonah clutched his shirt tighter. _Did he just help him? Why would he do that? Jonah didn't even know him. Can he really just come and go as he pleases?_

Shaking his head, Jonah stared at the front door of the dorm. _His dorm. He's the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm. This is his home._ Gulping, he walked up the stair, quickly reaching for the front door. His hand trembled when he reached for the handle. _This is okay, right? He had walked up here without any complication and is still alive, right? This should be easy..._ Taking a deep breath before holding it and closing his eyes, Jonah slammed the door open, wincing at the loud sound he caused.

"Jonah!"

Something hit him in the stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground in panic, gasping in surprise. Opening his eyes, he saw a familiar cat hugging him.

"Grim?" he called. Grim looked up, smiling widely.

_Grim is here... Grim is here. Grim is here-!_

The paws on his cheeks grounded him. Grim was staring at him worriedly. _Right. He couldn't let him down._ Slowly, with trembling hand, Jonah reached for one of the paws, nuzzling his cheek on to it and smiling softly at the cat. "Hey, Grim."

Grim broke into laughter, hugging Jonah even tighter. "I'm glad you're alright!"

"The captain is home!" Looking up, Jonah could see three heads popping through all of them are laughing.

"Jonah!"

"You're back!"

The three ghosts flew around Jonah, making the boy laugh. "Lou! Soo! Barret!"

"We miss you so much!" Soo said in front of his face. They gathered closer, trying to get as close as a hug.

Jonah sniffled, overwhelmed by the warm welcome. "I miss you guys too..."

"We protect this place, you know!" Lou said, puffing up his chest proudly. "It was troublesome to scare off all those renovators."

Jonah laughed. "Thank you so much for your hard work."

Grim grinned. "We don't know when you're gonna come back so we didn't prepare a welcome home gift. But you can have this!"

Jonah felt something was being pressed against his palm. Looking down, he found himself holding a black, coal-like rock. "You found this after the battle?" he asked Grim.

The cat nodded. "Yup!"

Jonah chuckled as he shook his head. "Grim, you know humans can't eat rocks."

"Yeah, Grim. You dumb cat," said Barret.

"Shut up!" Grim glared at the skeleton ghost. "I don't see you giving anything!"

Jonah rolled his eyes, amused at their antics. "You can eat it. Fetch~!"

Jonah threw the rock into the air. As it fell, Grim opened his mouth widely, running to positioned himself underneath the rock. The rock fell into his mouth and everyone was amazed that Grim didn't choke on that. "Mmmm~" the cat licked his lips. "It starts out heavy and rich but then there's a punch of saltiness..." He started to float and spun around in the air like he just had an explosion of flavor in his mouth.

Jonah laughed. "What? Are you some sort of Gourmet Hunter now?"

"He's not a hunter, he's a pig!" Barret laughed.

Grim's eyes twitched. He flew close to Barret. Their forehead touching as sparks flew from their glare. "Who are you calling a pig, you overweight sack of potato!?"

"You wanna fight?! Come at me like a magical being!"

Soo sighed, pressing a palm to his forehead. "There they go again..."

"Give them five minutes, they'll get tired," said Lou, resting his elbow onto Jonah's shoulder.

Jonah giggled watching the banter in front of him. _Ah... He misses this so much..._

* * *

"Did you see him?"

Silver looked around the yard of the old building. Dimly he could hear laughter from inside the building, but none of them were recognizable. "No, it looks like he’s not here," he said. "He might have headed to the western building."

Sebek sighed in frustration and worry. "Ah, Young Master, why do you always leave without your guards?" He turned to Silver, glaring at him. "It's because you took your eyes off him, Silver!"

Silver sighed, rolling his eyes. "He’s not a baby, Sebek. You worry about him too much."

That seemed to make Sebek even more ticked off. "We'll be too late if we wait until something happens. Don't let your guard down for one second!" He stepped closer to Silver until their face was mere inches from each other. "Are you even aware of how important being Young Master's guard is!?" The greenette poked the silvernette's chest for emphasis. "I won't allow you to forget the great debt we owe to the Young Master and Master Lilia for deigning to raise us!"

Silver could just sigh. "That has nothing to do with this..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys. The next chapter is the finale of 'The Merchant of the Deep Sea', so we'll probably be having the recap episode on Tuesday, along with several announcements. So, if you guys have some questions or opinions, you can send them to my 'Good Question' box and I'll be responding to it on Tuesday!


	107. Wish I Could Be Part of Your World! (The Merchant of the Deep Sea Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'The Merchant of the Deep Sea' finale

Deuce woke up when the sun had just risen, coloring the horizon with beautiful purple and orange. The bed underneath him wasn't as comfy as the bed back in the dorm. _Where is he?_ He tried to sit up, but he felt something was holding his hand down.

_Or someone to be exact._

A very-familiar ginger was sitting on a plastic chair, one arm folded on the bed as he rested head on top his it while his other was holding Deuce's. _What is he doing here?_ Looking around, he finally recognized his surroundings. He was in the infirmary where most of the beds were occupied. _How did he get here again?_

Looking back to the ginger, Deuce felt slightly guilty that he had to wake up the boy from his slumber, but he needed some answer. "Ace." He tried to call, poking the ginger's cheek. "Ace. Wake up."

The ginger scrunched his eyes before blinking to awakening. Realizing that his friend had sat up on the bed, Ace's red eyes immediately widened. "Deuce!" He shot up from his seat, bringing himself closer to Deuce. "You're awake!"

"Y-Yeah." Obviously taken back the sudden invasion of personal space, Deuce put a hand on Ace's chest to push him back slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Blinking, Deuce noticed how Ace's cheek suddenly became redder. The ginger cleared his throat before sitting back at his seat, not really looking at Deuce. "Y-You were unconscious for nearly a day. I-I'm just here to make sure you don't die in your sleep."

Deuce frowned. "Ace. I'm not dying."

Ace snapped his head toward him, looking slightly angry. "You almost did!" he shouted. "Azul took you magic and..."

Ace looked down at his hand which was still holding onto Deuce. _Oh. Now, he remembered. The feeling when your whole magic was suddenly ripped away from you. The sensation of disconnection from your surroundings. It felt like he was floating in the void as his life flickered in and out._

Deuce's other hand moved, putting it on top of Ace's, making the ginger looked up to him. "I didn't mean to make you worry," Deuce said, thumb caressing the back of Ace's hand.

Ace let out a teary chuckled. "You're an idiot you know that."

"Hey..." Deuce pouted.

Ace laughed again. He smiled at him. Deuce didn't understand why his heart beating faster every time he saw that smile. "Good to have you back, buddy."

Deuce sighed but then smiled. "Glad to be back, partner."

* * *

Grim sneezed from the cloud of flour that appeared before him. "Barret! Don't just throw flour in front of my face!"

Barret stuck his tongue out. "I'm doing exactly what the recipe is telling me to!"

"What recipe?!" Grim screamed back. "All we need is to flour the surface!"

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Guys, come on. We only have one oven here," he said. "We have to finish those sugar cookies first before moving to the shortcake."

Barret and Grim glared at each other but begrudgingly followed the order. Jonah sighed in relief. Glancing to his arm watch, he let out a curse when it was already past ten in the morning. Looking at Soo, he was doing fine with the preparation of the decoration and the strawberries, way better than Barret and Grim who kept showing off their cookie cuts. Jonah himself couldn't really do much with one hand. Sure, his prosthetic arm is very high-tech but without its complete parts, it missed some feature, mostly that required handheld.

He stopped stirring, making Lou who was holding the bowl of shortcake batter looked up to him. Jonah bit the inside of his mouth. Looking at the stump on his right wrist, the guilt set in his chest once again. _Will Senior Ashengrotto be okay? He knew he still has the twins, but will they be fine all on their own? He wanted to go see them but would Senior Jade and Floyd let him go and see the boss, after everything he had done to him?_

"Jonah?" Jonah blinked, turning to Lou. "You okay?"

Jonah sighed, giving him a small smile. "I will be," he said. "Just need some things in my mind." He stared back to his batter. _Give him time. But, for how long?_

He huffed. _Maybe he could think about that later. Right now, he had to make sure these sweets are baked perfectly._

* * *

The Goodbye Party at Heartslabyul went well. Nobody was late, everything went according to plan, and everyone was enjoying the moment before they have can go back home around noon. Everything was perfect.

_So, why the red-haired prefect didn't feel satisfied at all?_

Riddle sighed for who knows how many times, his left elbow rested on the table and chin in his palm, his other hand aimlessly stirring the spoon in his already cold tea in his cup. Most of the students had already left, some tables were cleaned by the members’ on-duty. Unsurprisingly, no snacks were left, some of them took the leftover back home, which Riddle let them slide for this once. He hadn't even touched his slice of strawberry tart, not really having the appetite.

"Riddle." The small prefect looked up at his vice who looked down at him worriedly. "You packed your things, right?"

Riddle hummed. "I sent them home."

Trey nodded. "You need anything else before you leave?"

Riddle shook his head. "I'll wash my own plate. You can go ahead."

Trey was silent for a moment, staring at his childhood friend who sighed again before going back to playing with his spoon. It was very obvious what was going on in Riddle's head and for once Trey didn't know what to do. He couldn't just say that the captain is doing fine when the last time they saw him was during his panic attack.

Looking to the side, Trey saw Cater was motioning him to go inside, probably to help around in the cleanup. Glancing one last time to the prefect, Trey walked away, leaving Riddle once again alone. The prefect sighed again. He knew he had to go back soon. His mother is probably waiting. He couldn't be late, even if nothing was waiting for him at home. He needed to talk to her about everything that had been going on. She probably had many questions about his overblot incident and him losing his _unique magic_ for a while. The talk wouldn't be pretty, but Riddle had gotten used to it at this point. Though, he wished he could just avoid it, at least for a while. He wasn't in a mood of digging old memories when he was still worried about the current matters-

"I hope you don't mind this." A plate of strawberry shortcake was suddenly placed in front of him. "I even made this marshmallow replica of you." Riddle's eyes widened when he finally recognized the voice. A finger came from his side into his line of vision, pointing at the miniature marshmallow that was placed next to the sweet. "It even has its arms crossed out because he's tired of waiting for a very late pirate friend."

Finally, Riddle looked up to his side as the finger pulled back. "Jonah..." he whispered.

The captain was smiling softly at him, looking better than the last time they had seen each other. "Hey, Senior Riddle," he answered.

Riddle didn't hold back. Jumping from his seat, he threw his arms around Jonah, hugging him. Even with one hand, Jonah managed to spin Riddle as he let out a teary laughed. Both boys closed their eyes as they hugged tighter, embracing in each other's warmth as they've missed so much.

"You're okay," Riddle whispered.

"I will be. Eventually." Jonah pulled back first, resting his forehead onto Riddle. "I'm sorry for everything."

"I can't get mad at you forever." Riddle opened his eyes slowly, his lips pulled up into a soft smile. "You taught me that, right? Everyone deserves a second chance."

Jonah chuckled. "Using my own words against me." He smiled. "I guess I have thanked you as well. You saved my life many times."

Riddle nodded. "I have your back, captain. Just don't get into too much trouble."

"I'll try my best, your majesty." Jonah pulled him closer, cradling the back of Riddle's head.

They stayed like that for a while as the soft wind blew the rose petals around them. They never acknowledge the rest of the Heartslabyul Gang plus Grim were spying them from behind the door or the clock chimed for one o'clock, signaling that it was really late. But it didn't matter.

_This moment is._

_After all the dangers through the rough sea, the storm had finally calmed down, opening the clear horizon once again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we end this long, emotional arc.  
> Sweet, merciful, Sakurai. We're finally done, fellas! After all the hype, all the twists and turns, we've finally reached the end. Not gonna lie, this is my favorite arc to write so far.  
> Thank you so much for tuning in up until this point.
> 
> Don't forget, tomorrow is the recap episode tomorrow. So, if you have any questions or opinions, just send it to my 'Good Question' box on my Tumblr, [@tsukikoayanosuke](https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The next arc to be covered is Scarabia Arc or 'The Tactician of the Scorching Sand', however I won't be working on it for a while. I have my arm operation next Wednesday so I will be off my laptop for quite a while.


	108. Happy Vacation! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to say goodbye~  
> Also, Crowley being a vacation dad.

"That's the last one I can find." The kitchen ghost floated down to the opened blue cooler on the floor and put the plastic of chicken nugget with the other frozen food in it.

"Thank you so much!" The student knelt and closed the cooler. He picked it up, along with the three duffle bags, slinging them over his shoulder, making sure that no contents were spill from it. "I better get going if I don't want the Mirror Chamber to be too crowded."

"Good luck, Bucchi!" the kitchen ghost waved at the running hyena who waved back at him. Laughing in excitement, Ruggie zoomed through the hall, climbing up the stairs toward the Mirror Chamber, some students looked at him weirdly, some whistle or even cheered ‘good luck’ for him, which he answered with his signature snicker.

"Hey, hey!" he shouted, squeezing himself between the crowds. "Stop standing in the middle of the road. Step aside, please!"

Among the crowds Ace and Deuce, both with their own backpack turned to the familiar voice. "Oh, Senior Bucchi." Deuce greeted when Ruggie stopped next to them. "Need any help there?"

Ruggie shook his head. "Nope. I'll be fine."

Ace whistles, circling him as he examined the luggage. "What's with all the stuff?"

"I got all the food that was about to expire from the cafeteria and the school store." Ruggie grinned. "They give it to me for free every year during the long break."

Ace paused, looking at the luggage, then to Ruggie’s small stomach. "You sure you can eat all of those?"

"What're you saying~?" Ruggie laughed again. "Once I get home and hand these to the local street rats, it'll be gone in no time." His fingers started drumming the strap of the duffle bag as he mumbled, "Gotta make sure that Granny eats her fill over the holiday."

Looking up, he realized that the crowd wasn’t as full as a few moments ago. "I better get back soon before this stuff melts!" He fixed his hold of his luggage and turned around, running backward as he laughed to the two first-years. "See ya next year, Heartslabyul Braincell Duo!"

"Hey!" Ace shouted but Ruggie already ran ahead to Vil who stood near the mirror with a clipboard in his hand. "We're not that stupid!"

"Wonder what he meant by 'local street rats' though…" Deuce mumbled, watching Ruggie jumped through the Dark Mirror.

"Ruggie lives in the slum of Afterglow Savanah." Turning around he saw Leona walking toward them with both hands in his pockets. He stopped next to them, but his gaze set on the mirror. "There are a lot of families stuck in poverty there. So, during the holiday, he brings back as much food as he can so the kids there can eat. That's just a hyena instinct to share their prey to those weaker than them."

"Can't you do anything?" Ace asked, folding his arms behind his head. "You're the prince, right?"

Leona scoffed. "As if my brother would listen to me. I can't change the law beyond the grassland border. The only reason I'm going home now is that I have some unfinished business with my brother."

"Going home?" Deuce looked at the senior from top to bottom, noticing the lack of bags. "You're not bringing anything, Senior Leona?"

Leona shrugged. "Got my wallet and phone. I have enough clothes at home."

"And what about your homework?" The three of them turned to Vil who walked toward him, one eyebrow raised at the fellow third-year. "You're not trying to set a bad example to your juniors, are you, Leona?"

"I'll do that when I get back," Leona smirked, gaiting an irritated look from Vil. "What about you, Vil? Don't you have some holiday commercial you need to shoot?"

"I did my portion before the final exam, going to start again after Wassailia," he answered. "Uncle Dire insisted for us to have an extended family vacation."

"Wait." Ace spoke up, looking at Vil strangely. "'Uncle Dire'? As in... Dire Crowley?"

Deuce's eyes widened as both of them jumped back in shock. "EH?! THE HEADMASTER IS YOUR UNCLE?!"

"Great Seven, no." Vil groaned, noticing how the crowd turned toward him because of the shouting. "He'll be kick off the family tree at this point," he added under his breath before speaking louder to them. "You can say that he's my godfather slash mentor. Similar to Jonah and the headmaster's relationship."

Ace was the first one to calm down. "Now that I think about it, Jonah does seem to be close with the headmaster," he said.

"Maybe he finally feels responsible for once," Leona added. "Taking an amnesiac stray that suddenly popped up in one of your coffin surely should tug a heartstring."

"Speaking of which, where is the headmaster?" Ace looked around, not finding any crow-man in a suit.

"Oh, he's there, guiding the other kids." Vil pointed in a direction and the rest of them turned.

Only to find a man with the most ridiculous outfit they’ve ever see.

"Everyone, please hold on tightly to your belongings after you’ve told the Mirror your destination," the headmaster said, holding the megaphone close to his mouth, despite not really needing it for his voice was loud enough. "If you let them go halfway, your bags might end up going somewhere else, understood? Those who are not confident, please feel free to ship them from the school store."

The headmaster _(are we even sure that is him?)_ was still wearing his signature bird-like mask over his golden eyes and claw-like gloves, but everything else was different and so mismatch. He wore a white fedora, a yellow shirt with leaves, apples, and white flowers motif along with a crow printed on his felt chest, white short that reached his knees, and brown shows.

"HE'S IN FULL VACATION MODE!" Ace and Deuce screamed. Vil smacked his palm to his forehead while Leona tried his best not to laugh out loud.

"A tropical shirt in the middle of winter?!" Ace screamed. "He's totally flying to the south."

"He's not even trying to hide his excitement, huh..." Deuce added.

Leona snorted, putting a hand on Vil’s shoulder but still grinning widely. "For once I pity you."

Vil groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just... Go home already."

Leona laughed, giving some more pats before letting his hand boing smacked away. "See ya later, you herbivores." Still smiling, Leona walked to the mirror.

They heard a sigh, followed by a saying, "If only he tries harder. I know he knows he can do anything he wanted and yet he's still lazy."

As they turned, someone laughed. "Hope you're not thinking of following your senior's bad example," he said. "Riddle will have your head if you don't do your homework."

"Oh, Jack. Senior Clover." Ace smiled at the two newcomers. Trey was carrying his suitcase while Jack had his backpack and a handful of cactus. "Why're you carrying a lot of plants? Are you going to open a flower shop?

"These are the cactuses that I'm raising. They'd wilt of nobody watered them over the break," Jack answered.

Ace’s eyes squinted and his lips curled into a teasing smile. "Heh~ I didn't know the Big Boy Jack Howl has a gardener soul."

"Don't be fooled by his scary appearance, man." A familiar purplenette suddenly appeared behind Ace, resting his elbow on Ace’s shoulders, also wearing a playful smile. "Deep down, we all know he's a big softie~"

Jack’s ears and tail shot up as his face turned red. "Enough about me!" he shouted with a voice slightly higher.

Deuce laughed as Ace and Epel snickered. "It's great that you have something that you enjoy," he said. He turned the Pomefiore first-year. "What about you, Epel?"

"The usual family gathering," Epel answered, stepping back and pulling the strap of his backpack with two hands. "I'm going back now. I need to help around the ranch near my home." He looked up to the wolf-boy. "You coming, Jack?"

"Yeah." He nodded, then turned to the Ace and Deuce. "Both of you better not slack off."

"There’s Mr. Diligent again.” Ace chuckled, but he and Deuce waved at the two boys. “Sure, sure, see ya again next year."

He nodded to the Heartslabyul students. "See you." The two first-years followed Vil to the mirror and said their hometown before jumping through the mirror one at a time.

Trey suddenly heard a sigh. Turning he saw, Cater, pulling his suitcase with one hand while staring at the screen of his phone. He walked up to the orange-haired student. "What's wrong?"

Cater looked up in surprise, but then sighed as he turned off the screen and shoved the phone into his blazer’s pocket. "Dad isn't going home this year," he sighed. "Welp, it's another Wassailia without them. My sisters will be cranky this whole winter." He glanced to Trey, lips curled up to a playful smile. "Come on, Trey. Can I just stay at your home?"

"If you don't mind helping around the bakery." Trey chuckled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It would be very busy around winter."

Cater sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, man... You'll work me to the bone. With minimum wages... Boo-hoo~"

Even among the crowd, the four could catch the familiar giggle of their prefect. Turning toward the entrance, two students just walked it, talking to each other without a care of the world. Riddle was carrying a suitcase with one hand while the other is holding onto Jonah. The captain himself had a satchel slung over his shoulder with Grim perching on his right shoulder.

Ace whistled, walking toward the pair. "Well, well, Prefect~" he smirked. "Feeling bold now?"

Jonah and Riddle paused. "What are you talking about?"

"Riddle is finally becoming a man..." Cater sniffed, wiping a nonexistence tear from the corner of his eye. "I'm so proud of you my son~"

"What..." Riddle looked at his dormmates in confusion when Trey pointed at their hands. Looking down, Riddle’s cheek immediately turned red. "Ah! S-Sorry!" He squeaked, pulling back his hand again. "D-Didn't realized I'm holding you this hold time."

"It's okay," Jonah said calmly, didn’t really feel offended. "Your hand is warm so I don't mind."

Riddle ahoge went up while Cater and Ace, in the background, whispered, "Smooth~"

"Anyway." Jonah turned to the blunette. "Deuce, you're feeling alright now?"

Deuce smiled at him. "Much better. Ace had been helping me with shipping most of my stuff."

"That's great." Jonah smiled back, looking back and forth at the two (also noticing there was a light blush on Ace’s cheeks when Deuce mentioned him). "Take a break, you two. Manual labor is very tiring for those who aren't used to it."

"Do you have to remind us that?" Ace groaned. But then he turned serious and worried, his eyes dropped to the stump of Jonah’s right hand. "But what about you?"

Noticing the gaze, Jonah pulled his arm behind his back. "I'll be fine. Eventually..." There was silence between them and Jonah winched inside. _Did he say the wrong word?_

"Ah~ Mister Argentum!" The headmaster suddenly popped in between Riddle and Jonah, making the two boys jumped away. The headmaster slung an arm over the eye-patch-wearing boy’s shoulder. "You're feeling alright now, My Boy?"

"Headmaster..." Jonah looked at the man from top to bottom. "That's... An interesting outfit."

He heard Ace snorted, but the headmaster ignored him. "Is it?" Crowley pulled back. "Bought it during Black Friday. I bought one for you and Vil as well."

Jonah’s jaw dropped and eyebrow raised. "Uh..."

"I'll pass." Vil walked up to him, looking very disappointed for some reason. "I'm not wearing that horrendous outfit."

"But, Baby Peacock~!" Crowley turned to the Pomefiore’s prefect. "You always deny my gift!" He leaned in the younger male, who blocked his face with his clipboard. "Just use this for once! You're hurting your godfather feeling."

Vil’s eye twitched. "Crowley, please..."

"'Baby Peacock'? Pfft-!" Cater quickly covered his mouth, stopping his laughter. Meanwhile, the shameless, fearless, Heartslabyul first-years were laughing their ass off, even Riddle and Trey managed to let out a giggle. Jonah didn’t technically laugh but he ducked his head to hide his smile, but Grim was laughing loudly that he nearly fell off.

Vil’s vein popped, glaring at each and one of them as he pushed Crowley away. "You call me that and I'll unfollow all of your magicam accounts."

"Ouch. So mean~" Cater snorted.

Jonah cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. "Why would I need new clothes?"

"We are going to a..." Crowley jumped back and twirled around, before stretching his arms wide as if he was presenting the biggest surprise. "FAMILY ROAD TRIP TO THE TROPICAL ISLAND!"

You can even imagine the background of a sunny beach behind the overly excited headmaster.

Vil groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please stop..." he muttered. Meanwhile, Jonah just let out a weak chuckle, didn’t know whether he should be happy or embarrassed.

"Ah~ What a marvelous idea, Headmaster~" A familiar blond in a hat suddenly appeared between Ace and Deuce, making the first-years jumped away.

"GAH!" Ace screamed. "When did he pop up?!"

Rook ignored him and continued with his words in the most dramatic ways, "Ah~ The holiday and Wassailia Day. Where families gather from near and far for this magical occasion filled with cheer."

"Oh! You are absolutely correct, Mister Hunt!" Crowley clapped his hands. "And this is Wassaillia is extra special because Mister Argentum and Grim are joining with us!"

Grim perked up at this. "Ffgna-! Me too?!"

"Of course!" Crowley jumped behind the boy and the cat, one hand on Jonah’s shoulder and one of Grim’s head. "I would never leave a stray cat alone in Ramshackle Dorm."

"I don't know I should feel happy or insulted," Grim muttered and Jonah, once again, just chuckled.

Ace leaned close to Jonah, whispering, "I didn't know the headmaster adopted you already."

Deuce leaned in from the other side, also whispering, "Are you even sure he's the real one?"

Jonah shrugged, "To be honest, I have no idea."

"Crowley, please." Vil smacked the clipboard onto the back of Crowley's head. "We're still in school."

"Yes. Yes." Crowley pulled back, clearing his throat, trying to sound professional again. "Please, escort the other student, Vil. I have to help Mister Argentum here to pack his bag. The carriage will arrive this evening."

Vil groaned again but complied. "Fine."

"Roi de Poison," Rook walked up to him. "Let me help you in guiding the children home." Vil looked at him, eyes shining with gratitude before both of them walked away from the group.

"Come along now, Mister Argentum." Crowley pulled Jonah and Grim aside, but Jonah paused.

"Wait a minute, headmaster. I need to talk with them for a few seconds." He glanced at the Heartslabyul Gang. Crowley let out an “Oh…” before nodding at them. Jonah ran back to the group.

He dug inside his satchel before pulling out two bags before offering them to Ace and Deuce. "Here."

The two of them exchange a glance. "What's this?" Ace asked.

Jonah averted his gaze, but there was a light blush on his cheeks. "Just some sugar cookies I made."

"Aw~ Thanks, Captain," Ace laughed, taking one of the bags and let Deuce took the other one. "How sweet of you for thinking about your crew~"

"Ah, well..." Jonah shrugged, trying to look cool, but failed because of the small smile. "You can say that..."

Deuce brought the bag close to his chest. "I'll be sure to enjoy every bite," he said, making Jonah blushed again.

"Jonah~" Cater poked the captain’s cheek before pointing at himself. "No for me?"

"I did make more… But someone managed to burn half of it…" His eyes squinted and he glanced at the cat on his shoulder.

Grim gasped with a paw on his chest, looking very offended. "It’s not my fault! I thought raising the oven heat might bake it faster!" Jonah just smacked himself.

"Aw man~" Cater whined. He pulled Jonah closer, putting on his best puppy-eyes. "Oh, well. You better bake us some once the second semester starts."

Jonah chuckled. "Alright."

"Yay~" Cater cheered, pumping his fist. "Hey, hey hey~ Let's take a picture first!" Cater took out his phone as he ushered the gang to come closer before raising his phone in the air, putting it on selfie mode. "Say 'mac and cheese'!"

"Mac and cheese!" _*snap!*_

The picture was great. Riddle and Deuce looked rather stiff, compare to Trey and Jonah who were smiling and waving at the camera. Grim, Ace and Cater were grinning widely, putting up a peace sign. Cater quickly posted it at his magicam. "#lastdayofschool, #heartslabyulfinale #Happy New Year #Time flies lol." Cater put back his phone. "Alright. Happy holidays, guys~"

All of them waved at the orange-haired boy who winked at him, before walking away. Trey sighed. "I should send him something for Wassailla."

"You should," Riddle added. "It'll make him happy."

"Yeah." Trey turned to the shorted boy. "I'll bake you something too. Just visit the shop anytime, okay? Che'nya will definitely show up too."

"Thanks." Riddle’s grip on his suitcase harder, trying to ground himself. "I just... I need to have a good talk with my mother." He sighed. "Though... I don't know if she will listen."

"I see." Trey nodded. "Good luck then."

"Hey, if you need to talk about it, we're open," Ace said, patting Riddle on the shoulder. "Wait. In fact..." He took out his phone and did some swiping and tapping. "There." He turned his phone screen at them.

"A magicam group chat?" Deuce commented.

"Yeah. That way we can check on one and others." Ace shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I need to go home now. My brother is probably wailing in the front door by now."

Deuce nodded, walking beside Ace. "I'm leaving too. My mom is probably waiting to." He turned to the remaining member of the gang, nodding at them. "Everyone, have a nice vacation."

Ace waved his hand as well. "See ya next year, guys."

The three of them watched them walked through the mirror before Riddle looked at his wristwatch. He clicked his tongue. "I guess... I'll take my leave as well."

"Alright," Jonah said, offering a hand. "See you next semester."

"You too." Riddle smiled back, reaching for his hand for a handshake. "Happy holiday."

The two of them watched the Heartslabyul Prefect leave. Trey sighed. He looked down at the smaller boy. "Jonah." The pirate looked up. "Even with all the troubles in the last few days, I just want to say thank you for being there for him."

Jonah sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I should thank you all. Without you guys, I probably become Senior Ashengrotto's slave by now."

Trey hummed. "What's going to happen with the two of you?"

"I'll be honest." Jonah looked around. He didn’t know why he hoped he could get a glance of the Octavinelle Prefect there, but no luck. "I don't know." He sighed again. "It really depends on his reaction."

Trey bent his knees so both of them could see eye to eye as he put a hand on his shoulder. "I know that your conflict with Azul is not as light as Riddle and mine. But, both of you will find a way."

Jonah solemnly nodded. "I hope so too."

Trey nodded and stood up again. "I better get going. Happy holiday."

Jonah smiled at him. "Happy holiday to you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are starting Scarabia Arc, aka Betrayal Part 2!  
> I have so much fun with these interactions, especially Vil and Jonah being embarrassed with their father figure. Of course, some changes here and there.
> 
> I think these updates might be slower since it's nearing my final exam, so I have to study. Be patient, kay.


	109. Noisy Nostalgia! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ramshackle Gang made some agreements with the headmaster.  
> Is that the Leech Twins?

"WHAT?! WHY YOU NEVER TELL ME?"

Jonah winched, waving his hand, trying to make a point. "Technically, you've never asked," Jonah mumbled. Crowley put his hands on his hips, tapping his foot like a nagging mother and raising an eyebrow. Jonah ducked his head as he added, "I never actually thought that you would take me on a holiday."

"And leave you alone in the cold winter?" Crowley gasped, hand on his chest like he just got shot. Taking a quick stride to the child, Crowley put his hands on Jonah’s shoulders. "I won't do that at you, My Boy."

In the background, Grim, who sat on the bed, cupped his paws around his mouth. "I don't know about that chief," he mouthed but managed to pull a smile from Jonah.

Crowley patted his shoulder, gaining the boy’s attention again. The headmaster sighed, going down to his knee so they could see each other straight in the eyes. "I know I haven't been the best headmaster,” he said. “And I know this won’t make up the various times you got hurt. But, I am trying to make up for every burden I've given to you. Starting small: giving you a well-deserved break."

"Headmaster..." Jonah stared at the man in front of him, feeling his fingers drumming his shoulder once in a while. _Anxiety, maybe? Why would the headmaster feel nervous? Was he really feel guilty? Was he really worried about him? Maybe… If not, he wouldn’t be gone this far as for taking him on a vacation._

The boy let out a sigh. "Alright. I might have a compromise."

Crowley nodded. "Go on."

"Scarabia Training Camp only lasts until next Wednesday. Once it's done, I'll just join you and Senior Schoenheit. So, both of us get what we want. How about it?"

Crowley hummed, thinking, before laughing out loud. "Excellent thinking~" He patted the boy’s shoulder. "I'll pick both of you up personally! Just contact me before the last day."

Jonah nodded. "Will do."

"And." Crowley picked up Jonah’s prosthetic arm. With a quick tap and swipe, a new number was saved in the contact. "If there's even an emergency, don't be afraid to call." He turned it off, patting it gently. "This time, I'll be there."

Jonah couldn’t help but smile. "Thank you so much."

"Good boy." Crowley ruffled his hair, earning a laugh from the boy before standing up again. He turned to the empty suitcase on the bed. "Now, which one of these you want to bring to your sleepover?"

* * *

Putting two fingers in his mouth, Jonah let out a whistle. "Ramshackle Ghosts!" he shouted. "Fall in!"

Giggles were heard from the ceiling before transparent children in Halloween costumes flew down from the ceiling and formed a line.

"Lou!"

"Soo!"

"Barret!"

"Reporting for duties!" The three children ghost saluted, to which Jonah and Grim saluted back.

"You actually listen to him?" Crowley stared at the children in awe. "Since when you can do that?"

The children exchanged glances, before looking at the man. "Improvisation," they said in unison.

Jonah stepped back. "Headmaster." He nodded.

"Thank you, Grim, Mister Argentum." Crowley stepped forward before kneeling in front of the ghosts. "Hello there."

"Hey, Old Man Crowley!" Barret waved his hand.

"Oi!" Soo smacked the back of his head. "You can't just say that to the headmaster!"

"It's alright." Crowley chuckled. "I've heard from Grim that you've done a good job protecting the dorm."

"Hell yeah, we did!" Lou puffed up his chest. "Those bullies were hard to kick out. We considered dropping a pot of hot oil, but we decided not to go through murder."

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him, but Soo quickly followed up. "Well, we did explode that vat of lemonade in front of a boy's face though..."

Jonah’s eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"He's fine!" Lou raised his hands. "He didn't get pierced by any glass shards. Just sticky lemonade."

Jonah groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're going to have a long talk about this soon."

Crowley shook his head, didn’t know whether he has to be amused or worried. "Alright, you three," he said, making the ghost focus on him. "Since you three done a great job with the dorm, how about I give you a big mission?"

"What kind of mission?" Barret asked, rubbing his chin.

Crowley squinted his eyes for dramatic effect. "A very crucial mission that affects the very existence of Night Raven College."

The three ghosts exchanged glances, cooing, "Ooo~"

"Wait." Soo raised his hand. "What's in it for us?"

"Hmm..." Crowley tapped his chin before snapping his fingers. "How about I throw you a special party with the fairy for Wassailia? So, you three don't have to celebrate alone this year."

"Really?" Barret floated, eyes widened and sparkled in childhood wonders. "Like a big party? With a feast and presents?"

"Yes." Crowley nodded. "Speaking of fairies, that's the mission." He cleared his throat and tapped his cane, making a silhouette of a smoking fairy. "As you know, all the fire around the campus, from the kitchen to fireplace, are maintained by fire fairies and if they are not offered well-dried firewood every day, they will disappear." The silhouette looked around but when it didn’t find what he was looking it let out a wail before puffing out. "Without the fairies, the school will perish from the harsh winter coldness every year." The three ghosts gasped, and Crowley continued, "However, the usual kitchen ghost in charge of the task is visiting his daughter who gave birth this year on the other side. It's his first grandchild, you see."

"Wait. How can a ghost have babies?" Jonah asked, turning to Grim.

"You never questioned how the three of them eat your food, now you're asking how ghost reproduce," Grim commented back in a monotone tone.

Crowley glanced back. "I'll give you 'The Talk' one day."

"So, it's important to keep the school warm this winter?" Soo asked.

"Exactly!" Crowley nodded again. "Like before during the magishift rematch, I'll put a spell to detach the three of you from Ramshackle Dorm. You can go anywhere you want, except for the other dorms. Just by putting firewood in the fireplace, you will have a feast and a big party. What do you say?"

Soo and Barret looked at Lou who hummed. "Ramshackle, huddle!" he screamed. The three ghosts along with the boy and cat huddled in a circle.

"What do you guys think?" Jonah asked.

"It sounds easy enough," Soo shrugged. "We just need to move around some firewood daily, right?"

"Not to mention, we'll have a party!" Barret pumping his fists excitedly. "It has been so long since we actually celebrate Wassailia!"

Lou and Soo nodded. The three ghosts broke up from the group huddle and face Crowley again. "You can count on us, Old Man Crowley!" Lou said with his thumb up, earning a smack on the head from Soo, but he continued, "We'll keep the school safe!"

"Thank you very much!" Crowley clapped. "I know I'm leaving Night Raven College in good ghosts."

* * *

"You know, I've never seen the headmaster like that." Jonah looked up to the cat sitting on top of his head. Grim crossed his paws in front of his chest and scrunched up his nose. "He's so weird..."

"Yeah." Jonah chuckled. "But I kinda like that." He looked down at the suitcase he was holding. After giving the task and a spell to the ghosts, Jonah and Grim said goodbye to the three before walking out of the dorm. They parted way with the headmaster, saying that he needed to pack more things for the trip. So, Grim and Jonah continued their walk alone to the Hall of Mirrors.

"Is that what is like to have an older man figure?" Jonah asked.

"That's a strange way to say a father figure," Grim said.

"Is it?" Jonah looked up again. "Do you have someone like that?"

"Like a family...?" Grim closed his eyes. "Hmm, I don't really remember..."

"Eh?"

Grim ducked his head, trying to visualize the past. "The first thing I remember is that I was alone and hungry. It was freezing, and I was just waiting for someone to come and get me... After that?"

_A little gray kitten curled up in the dark, shivering from the cold. Its ears suddenly caught the sound of footsteps and its head shot up, blue flame sparked into life. It quickly got onto its four paws, back arched and fur stood up, hissing. But the owner of the footsteps just giggled, stopping in front of the kitten. Gently, the figure picked up the kitten, cradling the poor thing close to their chest, hands gently patting its head. At first, the kitten got stiff, but soon it purred, nuzzling its head to the figure's hand._

"I can't remember much," Grim continued. "But I have this vague feeling of someone once stroking my head. Their hand is warm. But it felt weird though."

Jonah bit his bottom lips. _So, Grim could also possibly have amnesia as well? And an orphan? Poor boy... Maybe that's why they connect rather quickly. Both of their past is shrouded in mystery._ "Maybe you were really someone's familiar when you were a kitten?" Jonah asked.

"Maybe..." Grim shrugged. "But, the past is in the past, yanno! Can't change it so I'm all about the future!" Grim jumped off Jonah's head and flew in front of the boy's face, paws on his hips and puffing his chest. "After all, I'm going to be a great and wealthy magician!"

Jonah laughed. "You are right." He put a hand on Grim's cat, patting him as the cat nuzzled against it. As they entered the Hall of Mirrors, Grim froze. Quickly he turned around and started hissing.

"What's wrong?" Jonah asked. Peeking into the hall, there wasn't anyone there. _Why is Grim hissing at nothing?_

"Baby Seal?"

Jonah froze. _He couldn’t see them. He still has this curse. Sweet Nebula, what should he do?_

"Umm..." Jonah cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. "H-Hello, Senior Leech. Y-You're still here."

Jade and Floyd stood near the Octavinelle Mirror, watching the trembling boy and his hissing cat from afar. "We could ask the same thing," Jade spoke out, noticing the way Jonah flinched. "Azul and our hometown are quite far to the north, so the surface is covered by a glacier around this time of year."

"Yeah... Getting around the glacier sucks." Floyd tilted his head to the side. "We'll go back during Spring Break once the ice melts."

"I-I see..." Jonah bit the inside of his cheek. His fingers curled harder around the handle on his suitcase and his breathing started to pick up a pace. "That sounds troubling."

"And what about you?" Jade asked again, trying to take a step closer. "I thought you would be going somewhere."

"Hey! Back off!" Grim shot a ball of blue fire toward the twins but Jade quickly extinguished it with his water magic. It didn’t stop Grim from his shouting. "We're going to Scarabia for an awesome sleepover! And none of you are invited!" Grim grabbed Jonah’s handless right arm, gaining a gasp from the boy. "Come on, Jonah!" He pulled him toward the mirror with double arcs stacked on top one and another, with a small tower and red lanterns on the side, sand on the steps, and a snake carved on the stone behind it. Without any words, the two of them jumped through it, and the Leech Twins didn’t make any attempt to stop them.

Floyd clicked his tongue. "I don't like that tiny piranha."

Jade sighed. "They have a reason for not being comfortable around us. Maybe even Azul."

"Should we do something about him?" Floyd turned to his brother. He didn’t like Azul’s current situation. His boss had been sulking all day long since he woke up. He didn't want to come out of his room unless the two of them. Heck, he didn't even want to go through Octavinelle Mirror.

"He's reverting back to his octopus pot, but this time Octavinelle is his pot." Jade turned to his brother, his hand reaching for his twin. "The only thing we can do now is just being there for him."

Floyd huffed but complied. "Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the two of them are going to die before they can go on that family vacation.  
> I guess I forget to mention that my arm operation went well. I still need to go on physical therapy and drink some medicine, but I no longer need a cast.


	110. Extreme Banquet! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you write an extravagant banquet?

When they finally passed the mirror, Jonah's weak knees collapsed underneath him. Gripping his hair tightly, he screwed his eye shut, hoping that he could make the lingering whispers of the twins disappeared from his ears and mind. Some part of him registered Grim tapping his cheek, but his high-pitched voice sounded so far away. "Jonah! Jonah, you have to breathe." _What is Grim talking about? He's breathing, right? It does feel quite hard. His chest feels tight and his eye stings. Is he crying because of the pain? He clutched his chest hoping to ease the pain, but instead, it tightened up so painfully that he couldn't breathe again. Is he underwater again? Is that why he's crying? Is Scrabia now Octavinelle's territory too? It can't be. He can't do this. Everything is shambled. Stop it. Help!_

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"We passed by the Leech Twins and now he has a panic attack!"

"O-Oh! H-Hold on! I'll get some help."

Grim's paws were still on his face, wiping the tears that kept falling, bumping his forehead to his nose in an attempt to call the boy back from his own mind. Grim looked so blurry in his vision. _Is he disappearing? Does Ashengrotto manage to gain control once more? Will he drown again if he near Grim? No no, please no. He can't do this alone. He needs Grim. He needs him so much._

A new warmth touches his face replacing Grim's. _No no no no, don't take him away-_ "He's not going anywhere." Huh? Who is that? "Jonah, right? Listen to me." He felt the hand traveled to the back of his head and pulled him closer until he bumped into someone's chest. "Listen to my voice. Okay? Follow my breaths. You need to calm down."

It was difficult to process the request but once he felt the heart bumping, Jonah sort of getting it. _He could do this. He could_. Breathing was hard but as long as he followed the tempo of the heartbeat, he could do it. The firm hand on his back, rubbing circles and massaging his shoulder every now and again helped him relaxed until his shaky breathing stuttered and gave way to a slow, deep rhythm that matched the heartbeat.

"Hey." The hand on his head patted him gently. "Can you look up for me?"

Slowly, Jonah pulled back and his vision cleared again, realizing he was staring face to face with a boy with dark skin, dark eyes, and long, dark hair, with some locks in tight braids underneath the uniform hood.

"S-Senior Viper...?" the eyepatch-wearing boy whispered, earning a relieved smile from the Scarabia Vice Prefect.

"Glad to have you back, Jonah," he said. "Need some times to rest?"

Jonah shook his head. "I'll be fine." His knees were still a bit wobbly when he tried to get up even with Viper helping him. "Well. Mostly fine."

The senior chuckled. "Come on. We have a feast in the lounge." Viper pulled the suitcase away from Jonah's hand before giving it to a boy with purple hair. "Take the bag to the guest room, okay?"

The boy nodded, following Viper who guided Jonah and Grim from behind, only parting away halfway.

Viper wasn't kidding when they have a feast. The lounge's floor was covered with fancy carpet with students gathered around, chatting and laughing, as the guys on duty prepared the various food and drinks.

"Wow!" Grim looked around, eyes widened and practically salivating. "Now this is a banquet!"

Viper chuckled again. "I'll take that as a compliment." He guided the two of them to the empty seat near the balcony. As they sat down, Viper picked up a prepared tray with a bowl of soup, flatbread on the side, and a plate of chicken barbeque. "Eat up," he offered.

Jonah had to admit, the food looked delicious. Taking the tray, Jonah gave the chicken barbeque to Grim who happily ate them. Breaking the flatbread, he dipped it into the soup before eating it. Jonah's eye widened from the rich flavor. "Is this spinach?" he asked Viper.

"Yes." Viper popped a laddu into his mouth. "Palak paneer. Spinach and cottage cheese. With naan flatbread and tandoori chicken on the side."

"These are so good!" Grim wiped his mouth, taking a naan before biting into it. "You prepared all of this?"

Viper shrugged. "No, the one who thought up the menu so you could try a lot of new flavors was Kalim. And the Asim family taught me all there is to know about cooking. Everything is thanks to Kalim."

Jonah hummed. "He did a great job." He looked around. "Where is Senior Asim anyway?"

Just then, the sound of trumpets was suddenly heard. "What was that?" Jonah looked up.

Jamil's lips curled up. "The one you are wondering about."

It was soon followed by drumming and other strange noise. Grim was the first one to get up, flying to the railing of the lounge balcony. The cat's ears perked up and eyes widened, tail swishing in excitement. "Jonah, you have to see this!" Grim laughed.

Of course, his interest peaked. He glanced at Jamil, hoping to give him clues. But the vice prefect just shrugged. He tilted his head and glanced to Grim before returning to Jonah, motioning him to just listen to Grim. Standing up, Jonah walked toward Grim who now sat on the railing, jumping in his seat.

_Oh. Sweet Nebula._

It was a parade. More animals that Jonah had ever seen marched from the mirror. Elephants marched in the front, leading the parade, with a Scarabia student dancing, tossing, and twirling a flag on a pole in his hand. Camels came behind him with white monkeys, blowing a trumpet, on their back. More Scarabia students, swordmen and instrument players, with lions roaring on their side. Peacock opened their feather, shimmering them with pride, followed by more dancers with colorful shawls, and bears behind them. Something flew above the parade, laughter filled the air.

"We welcome our guest from Ramshackle!" Asim, who stood on top of a beautifully woven flying carpet, cheered. "I hope both of you enjoy the parade because here comes the big finale!" He raised and twirled his staff, summoning a magic circle in the air as white birds flying. " ** _[Unwind on the hot sands. An endless party. Sing, dance]_**! **_[OASIS MAKER]_**!"

The rain came down from the magic circle, creating a wide rainbow from the sun behind them. And with the birds flying past, it was as if they were rainbow-colored birds.

"So cool!" Grim stood up, pumping his fists into the air.

Jonah couldn't agree more. It was a fantastical scene. He was smiling widely. All the energy Asim and the parade radiating was contagious, in a good way of course. As the music reached its finale, Asim raised his staff again, shooting colorful fireworks. Everyone watching the parade cheered as Asim bowed, tipping his hat to end the amazing performance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the stuff in this chapter is based on Kalim's SSR Dorm Uniform story and Prince Ali scene. I love this boy so much...  
> Sorry for the short chapter. Quite busy in a few days


	111. Follow in My Footsteps, Shoe by Shoe! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you write a pokemon vs human battle?

The morning had come to Scarabia. The sky was painted in beautiful purple and orange of the sunrise and the air was getting warmer. Opening up the window of the guest room with a toothbrush in his mouth, Jonah let out a sigh. After the parade yesterday, Jamil showed him the room he would be staying in. It was a simple dorm room for one really, but with that Scarabia flare with woven rug-tapestry on the wall, bedframe with silk curtains, and a Scarabia dorm uniform which coincidentally the same size for Jonah and ribbon for Grim. Then, they just spend the rest of the day talking about the training camp.

_Speaking of which..._

Turning back to the bed, he saw Grim still had his eyes closed and snoring loudly in the exact same position when he had left to take a bath. Chuckling a bit, Jonah walked back to the bed, kneeling on the floor as he tapped the spot next to the cat’s head. “Grim. Wake up.”

Grim grumbled and tossed in his sleep. “Five more minutes…” Jonah rolled his eye.

“Come on, sleepyhead.” He picked up his cat and put him on top of his head, tummy down. Grim paws dangled in front of his voice. _Well, as long as he wasn’t drooling. He doesn’t want to wash his hair._

A knock suddenly came at his door. Taking the toothbrush out of his mouth, Jonah opened the door.

“Hey there.” The boy in front of him was the same height as him, with medium long purple hair and bangs that stop at his eyes and a long thin braid that extends down to his back, golden eyes, and fair skin. He wore the Scarabia uniform: a cropped black vest with gold detail and red lapels over a sleeveless black hoodie with red trim on the inside, a belt resembling safety tape which has the name of the dorm, and a snake insignia wrapped around his waist with the long end trailing down, a dark red cloth wrapped around his waist with gold designs on it, black parachute pants with red flame designs, black sandals with a gold scarab design, and accessories like gold bangles on his left wrist, a thick choker, and a snake armband that curls on his upper right arm.

Jonah nodded back as a greeting. “Can I help you?”

“Just making sure you’re okay this morning,” he said. “Kinda an order from Jamil.”

Jonah's eyebrows raised as his lips form an ‘o’. _Now that he dug deeper into his memories, the boy’s voice is very similar to yesterday during his panic attack._ “Oh. You’re the one who called Senior Viper yesterday?”

“Yep.” The boy nodded, smiling widely. “My name is Chandra, by the way.”

Jonah smiled back. “Oh. Thank you, Chandra. But, yeah. I’m feeling better. Thanks for asking?”

“It’s nothing.” Chandra waved his hand nonchalantly. “It’s at least I can do for at least, maybe intentionally, helping me with the whole contracts thing.”

Jonah paused. “You were there?”

“Yeah. Man…” He whistled, hands on his hips and shaking his head, probably reminiscing the moment. It was this that Jonah realized it was only three days ago they had another overblot incident. _It felt like a long time ago._ He bit inside his cheeks, mentally stopping himself from fidgeting.

“I don’t know what happened after that shouting fest, but you did a good job, buddy.” Chandra patted Jonah’s shoulder like a proud friend. But, somehow, from the way he phrasing his sentences, it puzzled him.

“Wait. You don’t know what happened that time?” he asked.

Chandra shrugged. “Well, I was barely conscious that time. But I heard it was pretty nasty.”

_It wasn’t nasty. It was an overblot! Is this boy taking the matters lightly? But at the same time, it kinda gave the same vibe as Riddle and Leona’s overblot news. Just how fast the news disappears in this school? It just doesn’t make any sense how a piece of news this big disappear in just two day-_

“If you’re ready, we’re doing our homework together at the lounge.” Chandra stepped back, snapping Jonah back to reality. The purplenette waved his hand before walking away. Jonah leaned against the door, rolling the toothbrush in his hand.

Grim grumbled from the top of his head, slowly opening his eyes. He yawned, stretching his legs. He looked down, looking at Jonah upside-down. “What’s with the frowning?”

Jonah looked at the cat. He opened his mouth but closed it again. He shook his head. “No idea yet.”

_Overblot news disappeared in just two days… So bizarre…_

* * *

“Ugh...”Grim flopped his head to the comfy pillow underneath him as his muffled groans continued. “I thought the purpose of the winter holiday is staying away from books.”

“There's also a reason why this is called a training camp,” Jonah glanced at the cat’s work. “6 times 3 is 18, Grim.”

“Heh?!” Grim shot up and pulled his book loser. His ears were up. “I knew that! I was testing your focus.”

Jonah snorted watching the cat quickly erasing his previous answer. “Yeah. Yeah,” he muttered as he going back to his own work on his lap.

Many students were gathered in the lounge with their own books of various homework. Viper could be seen walking around and answering those who had trouble, sometimes even waking up students who were about to fell asleep, like right now he was shaking Chandra’s shoulder before he drools all over his book.

“You're pretty good at math.” Jonah looked up again as Asim plopped down next to him, skimming through his homework, humming at the correct formula and answer.

Jonah chuckled. “Yeah. This is like the few that I can do.” He sighed. “Though I don't know if it'll enough to boost my grade.”

“That's okay. That's why we go to school after all. ” Asim bumped to his shoulder playfully. “Math is probably my strongest suit as well. I've been playing with numbers since I was young.”

Jonah turned his head toward him. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Asim laid down, hands folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. “My family is a rather well-known merchant from my homeland. Since I'm the eldest son and the heir, I was taught how to count very early so I can help with income and outcome of my dad's business.”

“The heir, huh?” Jonah rested his chin on his open palm and elbow on his knee, mildly interested. “Do you have siblings?”

Asim grinned at him. “30 younger siblings and still counting!”

Jonah’s elbow nearly slipped off his knees as Grim let out a yelp. “Ffgna! O-over 30!?” he screamed. “Multiple twins?!”

“Some of them are, even triplets.” Asim laughed. “I kinda stopped counting when they reached 30! I remember all their names and faces though! Ahaha~”

Grim leaned closer to Jonah, whispering, “The scale of his family is so different compared to commoners like us...”

Jonah nodded at him before going back to Asim. “If Leona and his brother have that rivalry intensity, I can't imagine having all 40 siblings ganging up on you.”

“Well, sibling rivalry can be a little bit intense.” He let out a nervous chuckle. It felt like he wants to say more but decided to stop himself. He sat up, stretching his arms before standing up. “Anyway! Guys!” Everyone looked up to him. “We're going to have a magic practice after this!”

“Yes, Prefect!”

* * *

Hours later, they found themselves in the Scarabia courtyard, all wearing their sports uniform. “Find your partner, everyone!” Asim instructed. Everyone quickly went to their closest student. Jonah couldn’t help but smile. It seemed the bond of friendship between the Scarabia students is quite strong.

Asim turned to Jonah. “Jonah, Grim. Want to spar with me?”

Jonah glanced ho the cat hanging on his shoulder. “What do you think?”

Grim’s ears twitched in excitement. Smirking he jumped off Jonah’s shoulders. “I’m ready to burn your but again,” he growled.

Asim grinned. Taking out his magical pen, with one spin, it changed into a long red staff with a red gem and golden snake hugging it. “Give me your best shot!”

Spinning his staff, Asim struck first with his water ball attack. “Grim, evade!” shouted Jonah, and Grim stepped away. The cat ran to the prefect all four, blue flame coming out from his teeth as he pounced, but Asim avoided him. Grim flicked his tail, but his trident end was blocked by Asim’s staff, getting tangled. Asim grinned and pulled his staff, bringing Grim with him. The prefect spun his staff before throwing Grim straight to the unprepared Jonah who unable to hold himself. Both cat and partner fell to the ground.

“Oi!” Grim climbed on top of Jonah’s head, tail flicking and smoke coming out from his ears. “We’re not done yet!” He slapped Jonah’s cheek. “Come on!”

Jonah groaned as he got up. “Fine.” The captain ran to the prefect, much to Asim’s surprise. Jonah slipped down the ground and at the same time Grim jump off from his head, shooting fireballs at Asim. Asim blocked all of them with his staff but didn’t anticipate, Jonah swiped him off his feet. Asim’s back hit the ground and Grim shot himself toward him. However, Asim raised his staff and sprayed a large amount of water to Grim, sending him screaming to the fountain.

“Grim!” Jonah ran toward the cat who emerge from the pond, spitting water and goldfish from his mouth. “You okay?”

“He looks like he’s just goofing off all the time but he hit pretty hard.” Grim stuck out his tongue. “He’s like Ace but less of the trickster part.”

“Guys!” Both of them turned toward Asim. “That was fun! You did a great job together.”

Jonah shrugged but still smiling. “It’s nothing really. We still need more practice.”

Asim nodded. “That’s why we have this training camp after all. Want to try again?”

Jonah turned to Grim. The cat didn’t look upset. Shaking his fur, he went back with all four paws on the ground, ready to pounce. “I won’t lose this time!”

Asim laughed. “Bring it on!”

* * *

“He beat you up hard, huh?” Jonah chuckled as he massaged Grim’s back. It was after dinner and everyone went back to their room to take a shower.

“Shut up…” the cat groaned. “Ugh… My back… Still sore…”

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Climbing off the bed, Jonah reached for the door and pulled it, revealing the white-haired prefect in his robe pajamas. “Senior Asim. What’s up?”

He lifted a plastic back in his hand. “Wanna help he lit up these fireworks? I got them from Sam’s shop.”

* * *

Soon they found themselves gathered once again in Scarabia’s courtyard. Some of them had a blanket draped over their shoulder because of the cold desert night. They watch the bright fountain firework that Asim just lit up.

A student with short braided dark pink hair and pink eyes suddenly yelped when a firecracker exploded next to his feet. “Ah!”

“Look at Yudhi's dance.” Chandra, the culprit with some rubber firecracker in his hand, laughed.

A senior with dark skin and white apple cut hair, layered with a ponytail on the left side, and black eyes shook his head. “It’s only funny until someone loses an eye.”

“Oh, lighten up, Mustafa.”

As it was a signal, more firecrackers exploded, this time, near Chandra’s feet. “Hey!” he turned toward the culprit. “Ashoka. What’s that for?!”

Ashoka, a tanned boy with dirty blond with a thick ahoge and bright green eyes, grinned at him. “It’s funny~”

“It’s only funny when it happens to someone else!” Chandra shouted back, which only resulted in Ashoka clacking up.

Jonah took out a tube and set it on the ground. “Launching the 100 Buster!” Grim shouted as he spitted fire to the fuse. Two or three fireworks shot up and exploded in the sky with pale yellow light but weaker than the shining stars that night.

“That’s it?” Chandra commented.

Ashoka sighed in disappointment. “It doesn’t look as badass as it sounded.”

“We have more for everyone here!” Asim took out a pack of stick firework from the plastic bag. “Let’s light up the night!”

The night, overall, was fun. Every student was enjoying themselves after a hard day of training camp. This was a nice moment to relax before another hard day tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of update. Finals Week is finally done but I still have at least two assignments, one of them is preparing for my volunteer program for college. So, sorry for the less frequent update.  
> I was going to post this at Christmas, but that day I was visiting my grandfather and was really tired when I got back.  
> But, eh.  
> MERRY (late) CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!


	112. Once You Find Your Center, You Are Sure to Win! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ME, pointing at JAMIL: SUS!

[“Fireworks? In the middle of winter?”] Ace asked, with a pocky stick sticking out in the corner of his mouth. He had a headphone connected to a mic and he was staring back and forth to the camera and the other screen as her fingers typing the keyboard rapidly. _Who would’ve guessed that Ace was a gamer?_

This was the first magicam group chat with the Heartslabyul. The screen was split into six boxes. Deuce, Jonah, and Cater were using their phone (though Jonah's widescreen made him looked like he was on PC), while Riddle, Trey, and Ace were on their PC. Riddle was obviously in his room, which could be seen from his tidy background. Trey said that he was in his living room since the signal there is better than in his room, with children’s (presumably Trey’s three siblings) voices could be heard. Cater was lying on his bed with an emoji pillow next to his head, though why his lighting was so bad nobody knows. Deuce said that his laptop broken down before the final exam and currently he was trying to fix it since he didn’t have enough money in his piggy bank to buy a new one. Jonah meanwhile was sitting at the front stairs of Scarabia dorm with Grim on his shoulder, watching the Scarabia’s magishift practice.

[“Are you in a training camp or a beach episode?”] Ace asked again, without even looking at the camera.

Jonah shrugged. “Many says that sometimes Senior Asim would have extra activities in the night for bonding.”

[“Heh, sound like fun,”] Cater commented. [“We should do that as well, Riddle?”]

[“No thanks.”] Ace stuck out his tongue. [“I don’t want to say in school for the holiday.”]

“Yeah! The homework is too much!” Grim got closer to the camera as if for emphases himself. “We should be relaxing and do our homework on the last day of winter.”

[“You keep saying that and I’ll consider holding a boot camp,”] Riddle said deadpanned.

Ace’s head wiped to his phone screen. [“No! Have mercy!”]

[“Then, change my name, Admin!”] Riddle shouted back. What he was referencing were the names that Ace, as the creator and admin of the magicam group chat, assigned. _And with great power comes greater pranks._ Ace and Jonah probably has the most normal name with _‘Ace of Heart’_ and _‘THE Captain’_. Cater got _‘Cay Cay Muchafruka’_ which Jonah never understand why, but Cater seemed to like it. Trey, on the other hand, didn’t seem to like his despite sounding as normal as _‘Sugar Daddy’_ , but he just nervous chuckled it off. Riddle and Deuce though didn’t take this well with _‘Captain’s Queen’_ and _‘No Thoughts Just Cauldron’_.

[“Nope~ It suits you!”] Ace laughed, the previous fear was replaced by the teasing looks.

[“It is not!”]

[“Don’t be embarrassed, Riddle~”]

[“Change my name too!”] Deuce shouted as well, his voice cracked because of the bad signal.

[“No!”] Ace yelled. [“It suits you as well!”]

[“I have thoughts!”]

[“You can’t be sure of that! Both of you are just petty. I don’t see Trey, Cater, or the captain complaining.”]

Trey was, of course, just chuckling nervously while Cater was snickering. The chat ping-ed with a message from Cay Cay Muchafruka said ‘ _daddy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_ ’ which sent Ace and Cater himself into a laughing mess, while Trey himself just covered his mouth to hide his embarrassed smile.

[“Their name is fine!”] Riddle shouted, maybe purposely not opening the chat. [“Don’t misuse your power!”]

[“I finally have something Prefect can’t control!”]

[“You little white rabbit-“]

“Whoa! Language, Riddle.” Cater said, raising his hand in the chat, but still chuckling.

The sound of the whistle gained Jonah’s attention. [“I have to go now.”] He looked back to the screen. [“The magishift practice is nearly over. Group chats again tomorrow?”]

Riddle paused to breathe to calm himself down before answering. [“I’ll try my best. I think my family is going to the castle tomorrow.”]

[“Castle? You’re invited by the queen again?”] Trey asked.

[“Yeah. I better start packing after this.”] Riddle nodded. Trey was about to ask again but a girlish scream in Trey’s background, he looked up, just making sure. “Clematis, what’s that?” A muffled answer of “Nothing!” came in.

[“Man… Staying in the castle, huh?”] Cater said, resting one arm behind his pillow. [“Sound so fancy.”]

Riddle huffed. [“It’s glamorous alright.”]

Cater whistled. [“Man, I wish I have something to do. It’s so boring here.”]

Trey went back to the screen. [“Well, you have homework.”]

[“Not you too, Trey!”] Cater pouted.

Riddle frowned, glaring at his screen as if he could burn a hole through it. [“All of you better do at least one homework by tomorrow.”]

Ace, who had gone back to his game, just rolled his eyes, glancing to his screen once before going back to playing again. [“Alright, alright, Your Majesty.”]

Riddle was fuming from Ace’s nonchalant attitude. [“And the names better changes to be less goofy.”]

Ace snorted. [“Make me!”]

[“You little-”] Ace’s screen suddenly disappeared leaving Riddle baffled. [“He logged out! How dare he log out in front of my face!”]

Cater was laughing out loud. Deuce camera was turned facing his table so it was dark but not logging out but you can him trying not to laugh. Trey was smiling hiding his muffled laugh behind his hand. [“Chill, Riddle,” ]Cater said once he had stopped laughing. [“Well, hope you guys are having fun on your side.”]

[“Yeah.”] Jonah nodded, waving to the screen. [“See you tomorrow.”]

One by one, they logged off before Jonah turned off his phone app on his arm. Standing up and dusting his pants before going down the stairs when a new magishift round started. This was probably the last round since the sun was no longer high in the sky. Two Scarabia teams, one with red headbands and the other had blue, Jonah noticed Asim was in the red team while Senior Nigam, or Ashoka he wanted to be called, was in the blue team. As Viper yelled, “Ready. Set. Game!” the disk disappeared in the scrimmage of students, then suddenly a member of the blue team appear bringing the disk, angle flicking with lightning. A red team member, stomped the ground and a wall of rock appeared in front of the disk carrier. But a blue on a broom shot the rock until it exploded. The disk was tossed to between the teammates, back and forth between two teams, but then suddenly Ashoka came out of nowhere on a living horse made of ice. He galloped past his enemies until he reached the last line and then he shot through the goal ring.

“GAME!” Viper blew the whistle ending the game with team blue victory. Jonah and Grim cheered as Ashoka rode back to his side and jumped off his horse which disappeared into a burst of snowflakes. His teammates were cheering before shaking hands with Asim and the rest of the red team.

“Everyone.” Viper clapped his hands, gaining everyone’s attention. “We're closing in with dinner. Which team in charge today?”

From the bench, Chandra raised his hand. “Our team!”

“Alright!” Asim shouted. “Everyone not on duty takes a shower!” He gave Chandra a thumb-up. “I can't wait to eat your food!”

Chandra responded with his own thump-up and a big grin on his face. “You can count on us, Prefect!”

Asim laughed. “That's the spirit! Everyone, dismiss.”

As the students dismissed, Viper turned to the two Ramshackle guests. “Jonah, Grim. Would you like to help us? You guys can be the tester.”

“Sure.” Jonah smiled.

Grim was grinning widely. “Tasting food fresh from the stove? Yes, please!”

* * *

Viper clapped his hands once the team had gathered, already cleaned up from the sweet and in fresh clothes and apron. “Alright, everyone. Let's get started if we want to feed all mouth here!”

The team quickly got working. Jonah, along with Viper, Chandra and Ashoka were on the counter job, cutting the ingredients.

On Chandra and Ashoka's counter, they were peeling the potatoes. Unlike Ashoka's clean cuts, Chandra was sloppy and cut more chucks rather than the skin. “Whoa!” He yelped when his potatoes slipped from his hand into Ashoka’s counter.

“Be careful with that, Chandra.” The blond passed the potato to the purplenette’s hand.

“Yeah. I'm fine.” Chandra rolled his hand. “It slipped out of my hand. Peeling potatoes is hard.”

“It's not that hard.” Ashoka’s lips curled up. “This is why you should help out in the kitchen.”

“Geez, there's no need to call me out like that,” Chandra grumbled, earning a snicker from Ashoka.

On Jonah and Grim’s counter, the cat was sniffling. Jonah stared at him strangely. “Are you crying?”

“No!” Grim wailed. He raised his paws which had a half-cut onion and a knife. “The tears won't stop!”

Jonah shook his head but smiled. “Well, we are chopping onions.”

“Here. Let me take over this.” Viper suddenly appeared behind Grim and took the knife off the cat’s hand. “You think you can help washing the rice for the pudding.”

“Leave it to me,” Grim nodded.

“You better not eat anything yet!” Jonah yelled just as the cat fly away. He huffed but Viper chuckled at this.

Everyone had their own job, was very coordinated, and flowed really well. The food they produced was amazing too; chicken biryani, paneer butter masala, tangy tomato and fresh corn soup, dal makhani (spiced buttery lentils), achari aloo baingan (potato and eggplant in pickling spices), and kheer (creamy cardamom rice pudding).

The dinner was as merry as the cooking session. Food was laid out in the center of each eating group and everyone made sure everyone got a taste.

“Hmm~!” Asim hummed when he put a spoonful of soup into his mouth. “Whoa, guys! It's delicious!”

“I know,” Jonah nodded. “A meal that we worked on together taste better.”

“This is so good!” Grim devoured his chicken biryani. “I can't stop eating!”

Chandra raised his empty plate. “More, please!”

Mustafa smacked him behind his head. “Get it yourself!” In the end, everyone was chatting happily and enjoying their food.

* * *

“That's the last one,” Jonah said as he put the last plate he just washed on the stacked of the cleaned plate. There wasn’t anyone else in the Scarabia kitchen other than Jonah, Grim, and Senior Viper, since he volunteered himself. Chandra’s team had left earlier.

“I'm so full...” Grim laid on the counter and patting his stomach. “I can sleep like a log after this.”

Jonah chuckled. He picked up Grim who already snuggled in his arm to sleep. The remaining two students walked through the warm lit Scarabia hallway.

“Thanks for today,” Viper said. “Hope you're enjoying this so far.”

“Yeah. It was fun,” Jonah smiled. “Thanks for having us. And thank you for yesterday.”

“You often get a panic attack like that?”

“Not that bad.” The captain looked down to the cat in his arm, hand patting his head. “Usually I just stuck on my spot, just...”

_It felt like he forgets how to breathe. It was like he was still in the water. His chest felt tightened. Water filling his lung. He was drowning again, isn’t he? He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t get out-_

“Hey.” A gasp escaped his lips. He blinked looking in his arm, he realized an arm was holding it. He just realized that he had stopped walking. Looking up slowly, he saw Viper’s face in front of him, looking calm. His voice also sounded calm, which made him calm. “You're okay here.”

Jonah breathed slowly until he calmed down. He nodded. “Thanks.” He gave in a small smile. “You've dealt with panic attacks before?”

Viper shrugged with a small smile on his face before they continued to walk. “Kalim has some. Being the heir to his family comes with its downside.” He sighed. “I've been handling Kalim's trouble since I was a kid, including his panic attacks.”

“What kind of relationship you have with Kalim?”

“My father and mother are attendants to the Asim family. I've been with Kalim for as long as I can remember, keeping him out of trouble he basically caused.”

There was something that Jonah just noticed. Glancing to the vice prefect, Viper didn’t look at him. His hands were in his pants pocket, brow slightly frowning and lips pressed into a tight smile. “He doesn't look like a troublemaker,” Jonah said.

Viper gave him a one-sided shrug. “He can be, more often than not. And I'll be there to clean those mess.”

Another thing he noted that his voice. It was flat. Never dipped, so he couldn’t be mad. It wasn’t high either, so he was proud either. Very flat. Every indifferent. “And...” Jonah took a deep breath and sighing out as his steps flattered. “How do you feel about that?”

Viper let out a huff. He was a few steps ahead of him and he turned around facing him. The warm lit hallway became colder as Viper smiled at him, black eyes shining under his hood. “I have nothing to say.” He had one hand on his chest and the other arm stretched to the side, bowing slightly. It was as if he was supposed to be a humble welcoming servant, but Jonah couldn’t help but feel scared. “Except it's my job to be his loyal servant.”

Jamil turned around, walking away leaving the boy and the cat alone. Grim blinked awake, slightly confused why they were stopping. “Jonah?”

Jonah looked down, giving a small smile to the cat. “I'm okay.” He looked back up again. Viper was nowhere to be seen, but Jonah could still feel the suffocating feel like something was trying to squeeze him to death.

_What are you hiding, Jamil Viper?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of the mini training camp. Thank goodness, this arc is forcing me to write longer training chapters than that one chapter in Break & Gosh.  
> I want to move on please...


	113. Through an Endless Diamond Sky! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is this technically a date? With Kalim, of all people?

When he came to his senses, the world was wobbling. Blinking to wake up, he realized that he fell asleep while sitting. _Wait. When he did that?_ He was pretty sure he was sleeping on his Scarabia’s room’s bed last night. Not only that, his room shouldn’t smell like this. Like roasted vegetables and spices.

**_"The boy will be under your care. Captain's order!"_ **

Lifting his head, he finally looked around his surroundings. Now he was pretty sure he wasn’t in his room. Instead, he was sitting behind one of a long table in some sort of a dining area connected to a small kitchen. A big rocky figure walked past him, walking up the stairs out of the room.

**_"Well, who be a humble cyborg to argue with a captain."_ **

Looking at the small kitchen area, he noticed there were other people in the room. One was a boy with brown hair and blue eyes, sitting on one of the counters, playing with the fruit in his hand. The other person wasn’t really a human. It was half-man half-bear with a cyborg's hand.

**_"Yeah. You know, just before I left, I met this old salamander who was looking for a cyborg buddy. His name is... Billy Bones?"_ **

At the boy’s word, the man just chuckled, glancing at him a bit before going back to his cooking.

**_"Bones? Doesn't ring any bell. Must've been a different cyborg. Now, go watch the launch, lad. There will be plenty of work waiting for you afterward."_ **

The boy was still looking at the cyborg suspiciously, but still followed his order and left the galley. It seemed like the boy’s gut was right. Just a few seconds later, the cyborg stopped cooking as glanced at the stairs.

**_"We better keep a sharp eye on this one. We wouldn't want him straying into things he shouldn't."_ **

As the pot of soup let out its wonderful steam, white flooded his vision until everything faded out. When he opened his eyes (again?), he found himself laying on his back, staring at the dark white ceiling above him and the familiar sound of a snoring cat beside him. _He’s back?_

He sat up, staring at his lap. _What was that? Was it the same as those strange visions with the Great Seven? But he wasn’t holding the orb. How could he get those? And why? Who were those? And…_ His hand reached for his trebling prosthetic arm. _That cyborg… He had never seen him before and yet felt close for some reason. And the boy… He vaguely remembers seeing him… Somewhere…_

"Jonah?"

There was nudging on his side. Looking down the cat was staring at him worriedly with his ears down. "Sorry." He smiled picking up the cat and placed him in his lap. "Did I wake you up?"

"Did you have a nightmare?" the cat asked.

He opened his mouth but closed it again, not really knowing the right answer. "Just a strange dream. Let’s sleep again." He laid down again as the cat curled up on his chest. He absentmindedly patted the cat as he stared at the ceiling.

_What with these dreams anyway? So bizarre…_

* * *

"Jonah? Earth to Jonah..."

"Huh?"

Looking up, he found Asim snapping his fingers in front of his face. "You've been spacing off a lot today. You’re not feeling so good?"

Jonah quickly shook his head. "Oh, nothing wrong. Just...” Looking down at his alchemy homework, he barely finished the first page. He bit his lip. “Had a lot of thoughts in my head."

"Hmm..." Asim tapped his chin, thinking for a second before his face brighten up and snapped his fingers. "I know just the thing." Looking past the balcony, the sky had turned orange. "And we're closing in dinner too. Yosh!"

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him, but Asim didn’t notice. He stood up and clapped his hand gaining everyone’s attention. "Alright, everyone! Study time is over!" There were collectives sigh and cheer between the students, knowing that this was the last day of training camp and they could go home tomorrow. "Take a break for a while before dinner. Can't wait for today's team feast!"

Asim turned to Jonah and Grim who closed their books. "Jonah, Grim. Come with me for a while?"

The boy and the cat glanced at each other with the cat shrugging. Jonah turned back to Kalim. "I guess we don’t mind."

Asim beamed and pulled them to the side, passing Viper who paused from calling him, probably about leaving them in the lounge, but he just sighed and facepalmed, letting Asim do what he wanted.

Asim pulled him down the hall, he wasn’t running anymore but he was still holding his hand. "So. How does it feel to join this training camp?" Asim asked, turning his head toward him.

Jonah chuckled. "It was really fun. Thank you for having us, Senior Asim. I think we have some of our homework done. At least a quarter way.” He glanced up to the cat on top of his head. “Right, Grim?"

Grim smirked, switching to a sitting position. "Heh. The Great Grim has no problem breezing through this tiny job!" His paws were on his hips and he puffed out his chest proudly. "With great food, we can finish this job in no time!"

Asim laughed. "I'm happy you enjoyed it, even just for two days. You'll be going home as well, after this?"

Jonah nodded. "We'll be calling the headmaster to pick us up. He said he wanted to take us for a family vacation."

"Heeh~ How gracious of him.”

"Well...” Jonah shrugged. “It's the headmaster.”

"You're right!" Asim laughed again. "You should come to visit my hometown in the Land of Hot Sands, too! I'll welcome you gladly!”

"Are you a prince or something? Grim asked.

Asim puffed his cheeks, thinking for a second before shaking his head lightly. “The Asim Family isn't technically a royal household, so I'm not a prince. Though I have a lot of relatives that are royalty.”

“Asim...?” Grim tilted his head to the side. “But isn't your full name Al-Asim?”

Asim giggled. “The 'Al' in my name means 'son' according to our country's olden language. And then, going back to my ancestor's names... All of the male family members born into our lineage add 'Al' to refer to themselves to indicate us as 'son of' our ancestors.” Letting go of Jonah’s hand, he stepped a few steps forward, spinning around and walking backward, still facing the Ramshackle Duo as if presenting himself. “In my case, our ancestor's last name is Asim, so adding 'Al' to that makes me ‘Kalim Al-Asim’, which basically means, 'Kalim, a son of the Asim Family' got it?”

“Heh...” Jonah said. “I've never even thought of names' origins before at all...”

“Was it a bit difficult to understand since it's foreign?” Asim scratched behind his head. “Welp, you can just call me Kalim! I've told you this before, right?”

"Yeah, you did." Jonah laughed. "You're very nice, Senior Kalim.”

Kalim smiled brightly. "Really? You're nice too, Jonah.” He suddenly stopped in front of a double door. "We're here.” The prefect opened the doors and Jonah was sure his eyes were about to pop out of their socket.

If the Scarabia dorm weren’t golden enough, this room was filled with gold and jewels and treasure of all kinds, scattering everywhere, from the floor to the walls, piles almost reached the ceiling. _With this amount the treasure he could buy the whole Night Raven College!_

“Wha–!? What's this place!?” Grim shouted flying everywhere, trying to see every treasure in the room. “There're so many sparkling treasures!”

“All of these are things that Dad made me bring when I left home,” Kalim said, stepping, followed by Jonah who was still amazed by the glitters. “But, they can't fit in my dorm room, so I borrowed this storage~”

Grim stared at the prefect dumbfounded. “It's not storage, it's practically a treasure vault!”

“Oh! You know such big words, Grim! Good for you~!” Kalim laughed, patting Grim on the head. “And the one I love most among this pile of treasures is...” He paused when he was about pointed at a pile of treasure. “Huh, where'd it go? That guy just moves around on its own, you know...” He started to look around ahead. “Hey, where'd you go~?”

Jonah stared at Kalim. _Maybe he should help him. But what could he have lost in a treasure vault?_ Looking at Grim he was picking a golden cup. “There's a lot, so maybe stealing one or two won't be...” he snickered.

“Oi.” Jonah smacked him at the back of his head playfully. “I know we're poor but let's stay away from stealing, okay?”

“He won't even notice.” He started to fill the cup with gold coins. “With these, I can buy a life-supply of tuna cans!” Jonah rolled his eyes before walking away, trying to push the thought of at least taking a handful of those colorful jewels. Kalim was still looking for something, but he mentioned something about moving. _Does moving treasure even exist?_

“Oi. Don't poke me.”

_Wait. What was Grim talking about?_

“Stop it—AH!”

Jonah ran back to Grim as Kalim popped his head. “Grim?! What’s wrong?”

Hovering above Grim was a multicolored carpet, mostly of red, black, and gold with a distinctive pattern depicting a tiger in all four corners and flames along the top and bottom and a gold pattern in the center that appears to consist of four swords and eight small genie lamps. “Th-the carpet is moving on its own! It's a cursed carpet!”

“Oh! So that's where you were.” Kalim ran to the gang. The carpet seemed to recognize him as it perked up and flew to Kalim, twirling around him like it was hugging him. “You’re getting better at hiding, buddy!”

“A… Magic carpet?” Jonah said, amazed. Grim flew behind him to hide but Jonah instead stepped closer to the other pair.

“Yep.” Kalim laughed. The carpet flew next to Grim, bending his top part so like it was tilting its head. “This is the legendary Magic Carpet from the Land of Hot Sands! I heard that it's a replica of the Magic Carpet that the Sultan the Sorcerer of the Desert served used to fly in the sky. It's an heirloom passed on in our family.”

Jonah reached for one of the carpet’s tassels, shaking it like a hand. “It's quite lovely,” Jonah said and the carpet ‘kissed’ the back of his hand as a response.

“How about we go for a night walk?” Kalim nudged the carpet with his elbow, winking at it. It nodded and flew between them in a laydown position. Kalim easily climbed onto it, standing on his two feet. “After this long tiring training camp, maybe a little escapee is all we need.”

Jonah looked at Grim behind him. He didn’t look scared, just a little wary. He looked at the carpet who looked back at him. “Is it safe?”

“Sure. Do you trust me?”

Jonah paused. He looked back up at Kalim. “What?”

Kalim smiled warmly, stretching his hand toward him. “Do you trust me?”

It must’ve been Kalim’s charm because for some reason Jonah’s heart was beating faster in his chest. _He felt so different than the others he had to interact with. So sincere and bright. Like the sun. There was no way this is the same troublesome boy Senior Viper described._

Jonah's lips curled into a smile as Grim clutched his jacket. “Yes.” He grabbed Kalim’s hand and the Scarabia prefect pulled them to the carpet. Without any announcement, the carpet took off, forcing them to sit down to balance themselves.

Up they soared, and over the Scarabia dorm, past the clouds, into the beautiful night sky as the aurora light shone above them. Soaring, tumbling, and freewheeling through the endless diamond sky. Jonah, even after months in flying class, had never seen something as beautiful as this night.

“Whoa!” Grim peered down, no longer afraid. “The dorm's looking small already.”

“How is it?” Kalim asked. “Being up on the clouds feels like we're in a different world, right?”

“This is amazing. It's like a whole new world,” Jonah breathed out, looking at the rainbow-colored light.

Kalim laughed. “I know, right? Being able to fly freely in the sky is good, huh?” He sighed as he leaned back to his elbow. “It makes me forget even the smallest of troubles.” He paused for a second. His smile slipped off a bit. “Though Jamil tells me that I'm worrying too much sometimes. I wish that he'd take it a little bit easy, too, you know...”

Jonah stared at him. Viper talked like Kalim didn’t care at all, which was contradicting with what he said just now. “You really care about Senior Viper, huh?”

Kalim let out a soft chuckled. He was looking ahead, reminiscing. “Jamil had been there since I was a kid. His family serves me for a very long time. And he... Well, he was just there. All the time.”

_Kalim always remembers every instance of Jamil’s rare smile. The way he helped him with his homework, always smarter than him. At that time he finally felt relieved when Jamil finally woke up from his coma from food poisoning. Every night after Kalim slipped into Jamil's room after his kidnapping incident, wanting the warmth of Jamil’s hug._

“I know he's just doing his duty but I... I just couldn't help it.”

“Help with what?” Jonah asked again.

Kalim traced the pattern of the carpet. “Every time Jamil is near me, everything seems brighter and warmer. It's like everything can be better as long as I'm with him.”

It was then they passed the bright full moon. As Kalim lifted his head toward Jonah, the captain's eye widened. “I guess, you can see that...”

Kalim’s face looked somewhat more angelic from the shining light as the wind blew his hair softly. He was blushing a bit, ruby eyes shone in twinkle that Jonah couldn’t recognize. _It wasn’t from cunningness or from getting an idea. But… Something else. Something warm. Something good._

_And then, Kalim gave out the answer._

“I'm in love with him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love this chapter, especially the obvious magic carpet ride reference. And Kalim fluff.


	114. Morning Star Discovery! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH at Hynotized!KALIM: Who is this sassy lost child?

The carpet flew back to Scarabia Dorm, stopping in front of the treasure vault room. It was probably nearing dinner. The carpet bent, forming a stair as Jonah with Grim on the shoulder climbed down. “Thank you for the magic carpet ride, Senior Kamil,” he said, turning around as Kalim opened the door to the vault and gesturing the carpet to go in for the night. “It was amazing.”

“I'm glad you guys enjoy it,” he said, closing the door. “Hope it cleared your mind a bit. You'll have the whole winter break to relax.”

Jonah giggled. “You have a point.”

“Kalim!” Both of them turned toward the sound to see Jamil walking toward them. Glancing to Kalim, Jonah noticed the way the corner of his lips lifted and his eyes twinkled like he was getting giddy but holding himself back.

The vice prefect stopped next to the prefect. “You're finally back. Can you come with me for a second? There's something I need to check before dinner.”

Kalim nodded at him. “Yeah, sure!” He turned to Grim and Jonah. “Meet you guys at the lounge, 'kay?”

Jonah nodded. “Alright. See you there.”

Kalim waved once at them before walking with Jamil, slightly skipping in his first few steps. _Wow. Is that how people who fall in love act? It’s quite endearing._ Patting Grim’s head, he turned around walking to the lounge.

* * *

“Man... The food looks delicious.” Ashoka eyed the food spread in their dinner circle group: kala chana chaat (black chickpea salad), coconut shrimp curry, vegetable rice pulao, dahi vada and garlic naan, chocolate almond bites, and a glass of mango lassi for each student. He gave a thumbs up to his white-haired senior. “Great job, Mustafa.”

Mustafa shrugged proudly. “Well, it's a team effort. I can see you.”

“But I'm so hungry...” Chandra whined, leaning to his back to Yudhi’s shoulder. “Today's training kicked all my energy.” Glancing to the lounge entrance, still no sign of Kaim, he pouted. “Where is the prefect anyway?”

Yudhi patted his head. “By the way, did you guys finish packing your stuff?”

“I'll pack my things tomorrow,” Ashoka sighed, stretching his arms. “I'm going straight to bed after dinner.

“Same~” Chandra added with a yawn in the end.

On Jonah and Grim’s table, the cat was nibbling on the crackers Kalim gave earlier during the magic carpet ride. Jonah had his elbow on his knees and chin on his palm. “You know, if Ramshackle isn't an option, this dorm wouldn't be so bad.”

Grim nodded, wiping his lips from the crumbs before eating another one. “Yeah. It's completely paradise and Kalim's a good guy, too.”

The chattering slowly dimmed down as someone clapped their hands. Turning to the entrance, they saw Jamil and Kalim walked in. “You're all here, I gather?” Jamil said, gaining everyone’s focus. “Before we start dinner, the prefect would like to make an announcement.”

Stepping forward, Kalim looked around with his shining red eyes- _wait. Something is wrong._ Kalim was stiffer than the previous bubbly persona. His gaze was colder than the warm during that carper ride. And he was frowning too deep.

He let out a long sigh. “Originally I had decided that we of Scarabia would have a training camp from December 1st until 15th, but I realized...” His fingers curled up before shouting. “THAT'S NOT ENOUGH!”

“EH!?”

“Kalim?!” Jamil stepped forward. “The training camp is over, isn't it?”

Kalim wiped his head toward him, glaring at the vice, stopping Jamil in his steps, _something that he would NEVER do_. “Hmmph! There's no way we can catch on with just a measly two-week camp.” He turned to the confused students. “We have to exert twice, no— FIVE times the effort if you don't want to disgrace the name of the dorm! I've sent a letter to your home that we'll be extending this training camp until January 2nd.”

Chandra counted with his fingers, eyes widened when he reached his equation result. “But that's a day before the start of the second semester!”

“And what about Wassailia?” Yudhi added, looking around, hoping to find a somewhat answer. “We can't just miss it.”

“Prefect Asim.” Mustafa stood up. “If you would just reconsider your decision-”

“No,” Kalim answered immediately. “This decision is final. After dinner, all of us, including you two,” He pointed at Jonah and Grim, making everyone turned to them, “have another duel practice.

“EH!? WHY US TOO!?” Grim shouted.

“You may be just guests at first, but now this training is mandatory for both of you,” Kalim crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I will not accepting free-loader in my dorm, got that?!”

Jonah frowned. _What happened to him? This is a complete 180 of him. He knew, even in their short time together, this was very out of character of him._ “Senior Kalim...”

“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”

“Yes, prefect!” both Ramshackle residents squeaked.

Kalim nodded, then turned to the others. “Eat and then get ready immediately!”

“Y-yes...!”

Jonah quickly grabbed a plate, stealing glances at Kalim who’s eating like a robot. He massaged his temple, trying to get a grasp of what the fuck just happened in the last few minutes. _Damn, this headache is annoying and hurt his eye-_

_Oh no… Why now…_

* * *

By the time it was so late, when everyone was beyond exhausted, Kalim finally shouted, “That's all for today!” He didn’t give time for the students to breathe before shouting again. “We'll be marching towards the Eastern Oasis tomorrow morning. I won't go easy on slackers, so be prepared!” He spun around, leaving the courtyard, not even looking back at his fellow dormmates who collapsed onto the floor.

Ashoka was lying on the ground on his back, gasping for air. “I can't feel my arms and legs anymore...”

Chandra fell to his butt, leaning back with his hands. “Someone...” he heaved. “Please give me some water...”

Jamil knelt beside him with a bottle of water. “Here.”

Chandra let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion and snatched the water bottle from Jamil’s hand. “Thank you, vice prefect...” he coughed before drinking it like a drunkard consuming their booze.

“Oi... Spare some drops for me...” Ashoka slapped his side, but Chandra hissed at him, keeping the bottle out of the blonde’s reach.

“Changing his decision like this,” Mustafa grumbled with his hands on his knees. “This is so unlikely of him even by his own standard.”

“Maybe he's too stressed out because of everything,” Yudhi suggested, pushing his loose strand of hair from his face.

Mustafa huffed, giving his junior a sideways glance. “But he had been more unstable lately.” He turned to Jamil. “What's wrong with him?”

Jamil sighed as he stood up. “I'll try to figure this out.” He clapped his hand gaining everyone’s attention. “Everyone, please go straight to bed. Don't linger in the hall. No staying up late.” Everyone let out a collective of exhausted sighs. The vice prefect walked to the addition of the training camp. Jonah was kneeling next to Grim who was lying on the ground.

“Grim. Grim.” The captain called, slapping the cat’s cheek. “Stay awake for me for a second.” The cat groaned as a response.

“Are you two okay?” Jamil asked.

Grim lifted his head before laying back down. “It's finally over...” he panted. “That guy was all laughs and smiles before... What the hell made him flip his switch so fast?”

Jamil rubbed the back of his neck, looking down to his feet. “He's probably worried and feels responsible, for once, about Scarabia's standing in the magishift tournament and final exams.” He sighed, glancing to Jonah who stood up with Grim cradled in his arms. “Even I've never seen Kalim act like this before. He's talking all over the place and sometimes gets iron-fisted. I'm worried that all of us couldn't keep up. Everyone's followed him as prefect with no problem before, but right now they're at a loss for what to do... All of us are, Captain.”

Jonah turned his head toward him almost immediately, brow furrowed and lips slightly parted as if Jamil just said something so lewd. “What did you just call me?” he whispered.

“Isn't that your grand title?” Jamil commented. He started to pace around them and Jonah unconsciously pulled Grim closer to his chest. “We've heard about the captain who ends the trials of Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, and Octavinelle. The boy who captured the hearts of many.” He stopped in front of him. “The One-Eyed Captain of Ramshackle Dorm, Jonah Argentum.

Jonah took a step back “I...”

“You're the diamond in the rough!” There was a little laugh at the of Jamil’s sentences. “That day when Kalim brought you here, it must've been fate!”

“N-No it's not! I was just-”

“Please, I'm begging you!” Arms on the side, Jamil bowed leaving both Jonah and Grim baffled. “Please lend a hand here in Scarabia, Captain!”

Jonah gritted his teeth. “I...”

Grim suddenly pulled his collar, wiggling out from his hug. “One moment, please,” he said, raising one finger before pulling Jonah around. “Jonah, you know we can just walk away from here, right?” he whispered.

“But...” Jonah bit his lip. “Senior Kalim is...”

“All we need to do is call the headmaster and he'll pick us up in no time. This is Scarabia's personal problem. We shouldn't get involved too much.”

Jonah glanced back. Jamil was still bowing. Jonah scrunched his eyes, sighing through his nose. Then, he turned around. “Senior Viper,” he started. “We'll be staying for a while.”

Grim squeaked. “Wha–!?”

Jamil slowly stood up straight again, lips curled up in a grateful smile. “I'm glad to hear-”

“But.” Jonah raised his hand, stopping Jamil. “We're just going to observe first.” Grim was about to complain, but Jonah stopped him by putting a hand on his head. “We'll join this training camp, but if I say this is too much for us, I'm calling the headmaster.”

It seemed Jamil was about to protest but ended up nodding in understanding. “I see. That's understandable.”

Jonah nodded back. “We'll be leaving now. Good night, Senior Viper.”

“Good night, Captain Argentum.”

Jonah walked away, with Grim complaining as he flew behind him, leaving Jamil alone in the courtyard. Looking up to the sky where the moon shining above him, he let out a sigh, pulling his hood down and letting his hair being blown softly by the cold wind.

* * *

“What are you doing?!” Grim screamed for the umpteenth time on the way back to their room. Jonah didn’t answer him even once, even when he pushed Grim into their room and closing the door. “Why are we putting ourselves in this? Let them solve their own problem! We just joined in the wrong place at the wrong time. We could've walked away, but no! Seriously, Captain, why?”

Jonah locked the door behind them before muttering, “Because we don't have much choice.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Grim squacked, watching Jonah walked toward their packed suitcase and dug into the content. Jonah walked to the cat, showing the golden orb that Grim had seen him held many times, but this time it was glowing with- _was that the sound of wind coming from in it?_ “What is that?”

Jonah took a deep breath before sighing. “Hold this for me.” He dropped the orb into the cat's paws and started tapping, leaving Grim gasping when the circle-motif on it sunk “I don't know if you can see it or not, but...” He twisted the orb and the bright green light came out of it.

“Wha- How?!” Grim looked at the light, twisting around to see how the room darkened, at the same time tiny lights twinkled above them and the floor changed into dunes of sand. “Why are we in the middle of a desert?”

Suddenly, a bright reddish-golden light flew past the cat’s face. “Was that a glowing beetle?” The beetle split into two before shooting themselves to the hill of sand. An earthquake happened, at the same time, a pair of galloping horses stopped not far from them. Turning to the new sound, Jonah saw a pair of men, one in a fancy clothes while the others were like from the street.

The dune rose, forming a tiger head with the glowing beetle as its eyes.

**_“At last, after all my years of searching, the Cave of Wonders.”_ **

The man in fancy clothes murmured in wonder, lips curled into a satisfied and wicked smile. His parrot on his shoulder squawked, repeating him, while the man in rags gasped.

**_“Who disturbs my slumber?”_ **

The cave growled. The fancy man pushed the raggedy man forward.

**_“It is I, Gazeem, a humble thief.”_ **

**_“Know this. Only one may enter here, one whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough.”_ **

The raggedy man turned to the fancy man, trying to get another opinion because he looked like he didn’t want to get closer to the supposed magic cave. But the fancy man just gave him shooed him.

**_“What are you waiting for? Bring me the lamp! The rest of the treasure is yours, but the lamp is mine.”_ **

The raggedy man gulped but climbed to the lip of the tiger. But when he stepped on the first step, the tiger roared. The man screamed as the head collapsed, swallowing him whole. Sand flew everywhere that the fancy man, even Jonah and Grim, covered their face. The dune shrunk, leaving the two pieces of beetle, no longer glowing, rolled down the sand.

**_“Seek thee out the diamond in the rough.”_ **

The bird was unfortunate to fall off the man's shoulder and buried in the sand, but it somehow managed to dig itself out, coughing sand from his beak. And then he started to complain, which took Jonah by surprise. _Is this bird like Grim? The fancy man’s familiar?_

**_“I can't believe it. I just don't believe it! We're never gonna get a hold of that stupid lamp! Just forget it. Look at this. Look at this. I'm so ticked off that I'm molting.”_ **

The bird flew and picked up the pieces of the beetle and dropping them to the fancy man’s open palm.

**_“Patience, Iago. Patience. Gazeem was obviously less than worthy. I must find this one, this... 'Diamond in the rough'.”_ **

As the desert wind blew, the desert melted, turning back into their Scarabia room and Grim watched the green light pouring into the orb again. “What... What kind of mumbo jumbo was that?!” Grim shouted when he finally finished processing everything, even though he knew he still didn’t understand most of it. “You've been seeing this stuff for a long time, haven't you?”

But Jonah didn’t even look up at him. “It's settled then,” he mumbled.

“What?”

The boy sighed, placing the orb on the nightstand, and sat on his bed. “There's no way out of here.”

“Wha-” Grim chocked. “NO! We can call the headmaster! He'll get us out!!” Jonah didn’t fought back when Grim grabbed his prosthetic arm and turning it on, opening the phonebook and picking Crowley’s number.

… … [Sorry. Right now, you’re unable to make a call].

“What?” Grim stared at the word ‘no signal’ on the screen. “It was fine yesterday!”

“I've told you.” Jonah turned off his arm. “There's no way we're going out.” He scooted backward until his back pressed them against the wall. “Whatever happening here is inevitable.”

“Are you serious...?”

Jonah sighed, hugging his knees close to his chest. “Senior Viper mentioned that we're the 'diamond in the rough' and that man with the parrot is looking for one.” He rested his chin on his knees as he stared at him, tiredness shone from his eye. “One of these Scarabia kids is the parrot man. I don't know who or what he wants in real life with us, but we can't leave this even if we want to. We're stuck here until we reach the climax.”

Grim was silent, trying to process all of this. _You can’t really blame him. With Kalim’s sudden mood swing to the worst, basically becoming a prisoner, and your friend has had these concerning cryptic dream, surely you would have more questions than understanding_. Grim’s ears folded down in confusion. “What should we do now?”

Jonah shook his head. “I don't know yet.” His voice was cracking, threatening to cry. “I don't want to do this either.” He rested his forehead on his knees, sniffling. “I'm tired, Grim. I want to go home too.”

“Hey…” Grim waddled closer, leaning his head to Jonah’s side, hoping that it would reassure them. With no signal, no way out, and Jonah was on the borderline of breaking down, that was all Grim could do at the moment.

They were still in that same position when they slipped into an uneasy sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, shit is happening a lot here. I tried my best not to make Jamil look so evil and Jonah’s breakdown just ended up weird.


	115. Severe March! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> March to the oasis!

A loud knocking came to the Ramshackle Duo's door before the sun hadn't risen yet. Grim was the first one to wake up, surprisingly. He rolled to his stomach and stretched his limbs as the knocking became louder. "Who is that..." he groaned. He unlocked the door, revealing a familiar white-haired senior.

"Can you keep it down?" Grim yawned, not afraid of how Mustafa's eye twitching in annoyance. "It's too early, yanno..."

"That's the point," he huffed. "We will be marching 10 kilometers to the East Oasis."

Grim's jaw dropped. "Ten kilometers of walking on a harsh desert?! Why’d we have to do something like that?!"

"The prefect order." He peeked into the room, noticing Jonah who raised his head from Grim's shouting but still in a daze. "He's not sick, is he?"

Grim turned to Jonah. His ears went down. "Not exactly."

Mustafa rubbed the back of his neck. "Then he'll be joining as well." Grim whipped his head to him, shocked by the lack of leniency. The Scarabia senior could only shrug. "Hurry or else Kalim will be mad."

He quickly left, not really wanting to get into an argument with the pissed-off cat. Grim huffed, slamming the door slightly harder than he expected. Glancing back to Jonah, he saw the boy scooted to sit at the side of the bed. He flew to the front of the boy's face.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Grim asked, tapping Jonah's cheek to gain his attention.

Jonah grasped Grim's paw, breathing slowly before nodding. "I'll try."

* * *

The resident of Scarabia gathered in the courtyard, all lined up in front of an elephant where Kalim sat inside the open palanquin on its back. Jamil stood at the very front of the line with a firey baton. Behind him, were the students on a horse while carrying a pole with a long ribbon-like flag, followed by the others on the with drums. Then came the marching band with giant tambourines, drums, even horns. Jonah was unfortunately got the line behind it with the flags, slightly grateful he didn't have to play any instruments (a terrible reminder of his not-so-great final score in music class), but unfortunately, he was separated from Grim, who got the last line with the dancers with feathers.

"Now then, let’s begin marching towards the East Oasis!" Kalim shouted, somehow loud enough that Jamil could hear him. "Anyone who falls behind will be lectured later!"

"What did I get myself into..." Grim grumbled, fixing the giant feather crown on his head. _What is he supposed to be? A peacock?_

Kalim, somehow, heard that. "Stop talking and move those feet!" he shouted, making Grim jumped. "Let’s go!"

The horn section was the first one to play their instrument, followed by the drums and tambourines. Jamil leading them, spinning his baton, while the flag holders slammed the end of their flag to the ground to follow the rhythm. The dancers leaped and waved their arms tied with a thin beautiful shawl (poor Grim, he tried his best to follow their movement). They walked nonstop with Kalim occasionally screaming when one slowed down. You can't really blame all of them. The Scarabia's desert sun was harsher than the regular warm sun if that was possible, not to mention, none of them got enough rest since the surprise announcement last night and the sudden no signal. It felt like hours until Kalim finally screamed.

"All of you, stop!"

Collective sighs echoed through the ground, some were leaning on their flag with the others collapsed to the sand, not even minding the burn. Kalim rolled his eyes at them. "Tired from just that?" he spatted. He climbed down the elephant watching the pathetic students. "It’s because of that attitude that we couldn’t place in the Tournament and in tests! I was a fool for not realizing that I’ve been too lenient on all of you until yesterday."

Jamil wiped the sweat from his brow as he threw his baton to the ground. "We will be resting for 15 minutes," he announced, "And then we’ll be marching back towards the dorm.

Jonah fell to his butt, panting as he pulled his hood back. The sun heat immediately hit the top of his head, which was as worse as being steamed with his hood on.

Grim was crawling on his stomach toward the oasis. "Water, water..." he cried. However, when he reached the pool, his eyes widened when he realized that the oasis was dry. There was not a single drop of water in the pool and the plants, palm trees and bushes were dead dry. "Wha—This oasis has no water! Not even a single drop!"

"Wa... Ter...?" Kalim mumbled, gaining Jonah's attention. He blinked slowly repeating the word. He nodded several times like he tried to stay awake, before he lifted his head again, eyes wider than the squinting eyes he had earlier. "Water... Do you want some water?"

"Of course!" Grim yelled. "My throat’s so dry...!"

"Then I’ll get you some perfectly cool and delicious water to drink!" he said, voice raised slightly in excitement. Skipping to the edge of the pool, he took out his magical pen and performed a small dance. " ** _[Unwind on the hot sands. An endless party. Sing, dance]_**!" His pen turned into his staff before he spun it above his head. " ** _[OASIS MAKER]_**!"

Pointing it to the sky, he summoned a giant magic circle. Rain poured down from the air and the Scarabia students were never been so grateful as right now.

"Whoa~!" Grim raised his paws. "Blessed rains, finally~!"

Ashoka laid on the now cool sand. "So good~!"

Yudhi cupped his hands, collecting a handful of water before splashing it to his face. "It’s perfect for a weary body...!" he sighed.

Chandra tilted his head and opened his mouthed, shamelessly gulping the rain. "I feel alive again...!"

Kalim giggled, resting his staff on his shoulder. "Glad you like it! If it's water you need, I can create enough to fill the whole oasis to the brim."

Jonah, no longer feeling like he was being deep-fired. "Oasis Maker, was it? Is that your unique magic?"

"But 'making lotsa water' sounds pretty ordinary for a unique magic," Grim said. "There’s a lot of water-summoning magic, too, right."

"Aw, don’t be like that," Kalim pouted, but quickly returned to his smiling self. "Making lots with only a little energy and magic is my Oasis Maker’s selling point. Being able to conjure lots of water during an age without proper water supplies and heating has its own merit, you know? Well, it is pretty mediocre in here, but back in my hometown, this was a blessing from dehydration."

"I guess Land of Hot Sands is like Scarabia, huh?" Jonah said.

"But somehow drier," Kalim looked up to the sky, letting the slowed-down rain hit his face. "Dad always has our door open for those who need water. Sometimes he takes me to fill the people's well too, especially during the dry season. I'm just glad I can help others with my unique magic in some ways."

"Now that you mention it..." Grim stuck out his tongue before smacking his lips. "You have a point. It’s a gentle coolness and it’s not really tepid at all. It’s the kinda water that’s really fresh and makes me wanna drink it non-stop, yanno."

"Can a monster differentiate between types of water though?" Jamil asked, looking at him skeptically.

Grim glared at him. "What?! You're just being rude! My palette is unparalleled, yanno!"

"Yup, yup~" Kalim knelt next to Grim. "I knew Grim would know the difference!" He dug inside his pocket before taking out a pack of dry crackers. "Here, have some cracker!"

"Wait! I'm not eating dry food right-AJKFNLKDMALFNL!!?!?!" He didn't get to protested further as Kalim shoved the crackers into his mouth.

Watching the cheerful exchange, Jonah couldn't help but frown. "The prefect is totally different from when we left the dorm," he mumbled.

Mustafa who stood beside him sighed. "You can never guess when he will change back to his usual self. It'll always happen in an instant."

"Still..." _What caused him to switch personalities? Was it because of Grim's pleading? That couldn't be right. There must be a trigger or something..._

"Kalim, the break’s almost over," Jamil said as he tapped the prefect's shoulder. "Let’s gather everyone and head back.

Kalim looked up at him. "Already? We can let them rest for a little bit longer, can’t we?"

Jamil shook his head. "The sun will be at its peak if we wait a little longer. It’ll be harsher on everyone if we don’t move now."

Kalim looked to the sky. His rain had stopped and the sun was blazing down at them. "That makes sense," he mumbled. He nodded confidently before standing up. "Guys! We’ll be eating when we get back, so let’s do our best!" The students seemed to have higher morale than the last time, probably glad that their prefect was back to normal.

 _But still..._ Jonah watched Kalim climbed back to his palanquin. _What was the switch?_

* * *

"Excuse us~ Little fairy~" Barret called as he and his two other ghost friends flew into the empty cafeteria through the window, carrying several logs in his arms.

There was no response. "They can't hear us without the fire lights up," Soo mumbled.

"Come on." Lou motioned the two of them to follow him to the giant fireplace in the room. Barret placed the firewood into the place as Lou arranged it. Soo had a box of matches in his hand. Flicking a stick of fire, he threw it to the log as an invitation. It didn't take another second for the fire came blazing in. A little fae, with dress and hair blazing, came out from the fire. It opened its mouth, letting out a sound similar to a crackle of a fire.

"You're welcome," Barret grinned. "It's our job to keep you alive."

Soo smacked the back of his head. "Don't talk like they're going to die."

They waved to the fire fae before flying away, already finished with their important job, they headed to their home. The students they flew above waved at them, clearing the misunderstanding of them being some cheeky log-stealing ghosts. When they were close to the Ramshackle Dorm, Lou stopped flying, causing Soo and Barret to crash behind him. Before they could protest, Lou pointed at the dorm's gate. "There's someone there."

It was true, a student was standing by the gate, back leaning against the iron, reading something with a piece of paper in his hand. The student noticed the approaching ghosts. Lifting his head, he smiled, fang peeking out his lip. "Good day there, children," he greeted, putting the card into his jacket pocket.

"Who are you?" Lou asked.

"Mine name is Lilia Vanrouge," he said with a hand on his chest, slightly bowing. "May I bid thou three a question?"

The three ghosts exchange a glance. Nodding to each other, they turned back to the boy. "Sure," Lou said.

"The boy who stays here." The boy, Lilia, glanced at the dorm, before turning back to the ghosts. "Is he not back yet?"

"'Sirrah'?" Barret whispered to Lou.

"I think he means Jonah," Lou whispered back. He answered Lilia, shaking his head, "No. He's probably still in that training camp. But he should be back today."

"No, he's not," Soo pointed out. The training camp got extended, right?"

Lilia blinked in surprise. "Oh, is that so?"

Soo nodded. "Yeah. A letter came in two days ago."

"May I see it?" Lilia asked again. The three ghosts glanced at each other again before nodding. Soo flew to the dorm, passing the door, before flying through the open window, carrying an opened envelope. Giving it to Lilia, the Diasomnia student took out the letter.

_To: Parents of Jonah Argentum_

_From: Kalim al-Asim, Prefect of Scarabia, Night Raven College_

_First and foremost, I want to say thank you for letting your son attend the training camp that we are holding from the 1st to 15th December. Unfortunately, the last-minute agreement from us all, students of Scarabia, to extend the camp until the 2nd January. We will provide your son with the best service so they will be even more prepared for the next semester. We are really sorry for the sudden notice._

Lilia frowned. "Didst Young Argentum mention this?" he asked, looking up to the ghosts.

Lou shook his head. "No. Neither he nor Grim stop by."

Lilia sighed. "Well, this is unsettling." He gave the letter back to Lou before taking out his magical pen. He rubbed the gem in a circular motion, watching the green smokey light spiraled in it. It took him a while before the face of a familiar bird-masked man appeared.

["Sir Lilia?"]

"Dire. We may hast a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a march. The suspicions started to rise, both from the inside and outside.  
> Let's see whether any of you readers can guess the big picture of the plan


	116. Unpredictable Tyrant! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah may have found a lead to Kalim's mood swing.  
> Meanwhile, a bunch of adults is having a cryptic conversation

The brunch was simple but satisfying. Everyone was pretty grateful for the team that afternoon. The fact that they still had some little energy left to feed them was probably the best thing so far. Fasulia (green bean and beef stew) with an option of lamb burgers or lebanese rice, cauliflower hummus with pita bread, shish taouk (chicken kebobs), and a glass of ice coffee. Many groups had quickly finished their meal and now left chatting around.

Jonah, however, for some reason, wasn't that angry. Aimlessly stirring the bowl of hummus with his pita bread, he was staring at Kalim who happily munched his lamb burger, smiling as the sauce dripped from the corner of his lips. Jonah wanted to huff. Kalim had return back to normal. He didn't shout at all during the march back to the dorm, giving them encouraging cheers, even allowing them to take a break sometimes. _Again, what's wrong with him? Deep down, Jonah knew that the real Kalim is this sunny boy, so what triggers him to change into a storm?_

Kalim then perked up. Swallowing the food in his mouth he reached for the plate of blue cheese and crackers that he prepared himself earlier. "Oh yeah, Grim! Have you tried the blue cheese?" he picked a cracker and added blue cheese to it. "It's made from sheep's milk."

Grim, with crumbs around his cheeks, turned to him. "Eh... No thanks..."

"Aw, come on~ Don’t be shy! Ahaha!" Kalim shoved the crackers and cheese into Grim's mouth despite the cat's apparent squirming.

"AJFAKLNLA!!???!?!?"

"Don’t force him to eat one thing after another," Viper sighed. "Grim’s gonna choke, you know?"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Kalim sheepishly chuckled, patting Grim's back as the cat gulped the food in his mouth. "How about some dessert instead? We have plenty of ice cream. I can serve it Kalim-style."

"What's that?" Jonah asked.

"You put all the flavors in one single line and then use a big spoon to get one giant scoop!" Kalim stood up from his seat. "I’ll bring some, so wait here~"

Viper's eyes widened slightly and he quickly got up, strode to block Kalim's way. "Wait, Kalim. I’ll go prepare it, so sit down."

"It’s fine!" Kalim waved his hand casually. "I just have to get it from the fridge, right?"

Viper sighed again. "Idiot, what kind of servant makes his master wait on him?"

That seemed to strike Kalim in the heart. His smile slipped a little and his brow slightly furrowed. Jamil seemed to not notice this as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I wish you’d be more mindful of the fact that you’re the Asim Family’s heir," he said. To that Kalim bit his inside cheeks. "If they find out that I made you do something like that, our fathers will lecture me."

"But it's just ice cream, Jamil." Kalim shifted in his spot, fingers playing with his vest. "Just this once, okay? I want to try to prep it on my own." He gave him a sheepish smile. "Maybe you can just teach me?"

Viper stared at him for a second, before sighing in defeat. "Fine."

The sparks in Kalim's eyes returned. He jumped in his spot, cheering, "Yay!" He grabbed Viper's wrist, much for the vice prefect's surprise. Kalim glanced to Jonah and Grim for a second and said, "We'll back in a second." Before he ran out of the lounge, dragging Viper with him.

Jonah watched the pair left and then sighed. "What's the trigger?" he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Grim drank the last drop of his coffee, erasing the taste of dry crackers and blue cheese from his mouth. "Haah... I wanna hurry and get away from this prison, dammit." He looked at the boy still in deep thought. "Jonah, do we have a signal now?"

Jonah turned to him, rather startled, but proceeded to tap his arm, turning on the screen. Still no bar. He sighed. "We've been training non-stop. They probably don't have enough time to fix the connection."

Grim groaned. "Then, we have to figure out our own way to get out from here!"

"Like what? I doubt they'll let us pass the mirror."

"Then we sneak out." Grim grabbed a spoon from the table and help it between their face, grinning widely as if he was a mad scientist. "Using mainly spoons, we dig a tunnel under this dorm, and then we'll be back at our dorm!"

Jonah just gave him a black stare. "Spoon."

A tick mark appeared on Grim’s temple. "Well, excuse me, Captain! I don't see you suggesting something."

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you!" He let out a grunt, massaging his temple line he just had a heavy headache. "I'm telling you, Grim. There has to be something more than just sudden mood swings. That man with the parrot-"

"How long do you plan on loitering here!?"

The shouting took everyone's attention. _Oh shit._ The tyrannical Kalim was back, eyes shining bright and dangerous with his trembling fist curled beside him and gritted teeth. "Clean this up immediately! We’ll start training right after until late at night! To the garden now!"

Panic fell upon them and everyone scattered around. Kalim walked toward Jonah as Grim hid behind him. "I will not let sit this one out either."

Jonah opened his mouth but no sound came out. Kalim is too unstable. He couldn't make this worse unknowingly. He ducked his head as his hand reached behind him to pat Grim's head. "Yes, prefect."

Kalim nodded emotionlessly. Jonah glanced behind Kalim where Jamil stood, still staying in the shadowy hall.

_Wait..._

_But... What if..._

* * *

"He still hasn't answered?"

Vil shook his head as he lowered his phone to his ear the sound of 'Sorry, The current number you are calling is out of reach of service' still beeping from it. Crowley let out a worried sigh as he started to pace around in front of the mirror with Lilia's face on it. "Who could've done this?" the headmaster mumbled, "Why nobody told me sooner?"

"Well, knowing the young lad is 'i Scarabia, thou should'st wot whom's behind this," Lilia said and Crowley stopped his track, an unknown-language curse slipped out from his lips.

"He can't do that." He shook his head, hand covered his mouth. He started to pace around again, even more frantic than before that Vil was worried he would rip the carpet with his heels. "Not when I'm not around. I need to go there-"

"Dire, it'll take a long time to get there," Lilia interrupted. "You canst not _apparate_ 'i Sage Island. And with thy condition-"

"Are you suggesting me to do nothing again?" Crowley's voice rose, stopping his track to face the mirror. "He's supposed to be relaxing, not facing another potential overblot! And if this gets leaked-"

Vil placed his phone onto the table. "Are you that worried about the school's reputation?"

Crowley swiftly turned around, cape fluttering behind him, the yellow shines in the eyes were blazing in anger. Vil let out a silent gasp. He had never seen Crowley this angry before. "This is more than just the school, Mister Schoenheit," the headmaster growled. "And both of you know damn well that I'm the only one who can do this."

"I wot, Dire." Lilia's voice meanwhile was softer, as if he was trying to calm Crowley down. Vil had guessed that Crowley and Lilia had known each other even before Lilia enter NRC, but he never knew how long was ago.

"My guesses, would he very cut all connection, technology and magic-wise, there is most little we doth if we do lack to keep the words from spreading," Lilia continued. "Dire, i shall hast to inform both Malleus and Her Majesty about this and get thou hither as anon as possible to try thy job."

That seemed to win Crowley over. He let out a tired sigh. "Thank you, Sir Vanrouge."

It seemed like both of them had reached an unspoken conclusion because Lilia cut the connection immediately after. Crowley sighed again, wiping his eyes under his mask. He knew that he had to move now unless he wanted things to get out of control. He spun around and walked toward the door.

"You're risking too much here." Crowley paused from reaching the door handle. He glanced to Vil who stood in front of the mirror, watching him from his reflection. "Worried parents, isolated students. There's too much potential for failure."

"Even so," Crowley said. "Those who follow their heart will get their happy ending, don't they?"

Vil pressed his palm onto the mirror. "That's not reserved for us."

"But we're doing great so far. Even just for one cycle, all of you deserve a happy ending."

Vil didn't respond, thus Crowley took it his cue to leave. Vil sighed, looking back at himself in the mirror, imagining someone else staring back at him. _Someone beautiful and majestic..._

"What is a happy ending?" he whispered, hoping that reflection would answer.

_But the only thing he could see was lightning and falling rocks._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today will be a double update.  
> I'll be posting the next chapter in a few minutes.


	117. The Strategy’s Dilemma! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JONAH: I've connected the two dots.  
> GRIM: You didn't connect shit.  
> JONAH: I've connected them.

Kalim was true to his words. The training was just as harsh as before. The training was just as harsh as before until nearing midnight. He also announced that they will have another march the next morning.

Jonah walked slowly with Grim in his arms and Senior Viper by his side, escorting him back to his room and making sure he didn't fell asleep in the hallway. But really, Jonah probably won't be sleeping. The thought of Kalim's tyranny still ringing in his mind. _The clue was right in front of his eyes, dammit!_

"Jonah?"

"Huh?" Jonah looked up to the senior.

"You're spacing out," Viper said. "Too tired?"

"Uh..." He looked down at his feet. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

Maybe he could find an answer? Well, it won't hurt to try. "Did..." he gulped, "Did something happen to Senior Kalim back then?"

Viper blinked confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"Well. When you left for that ice cream, he was fine. But when he got back, he changed again." He looked up to Viper again. "Is there some sort of trigger in the kitchen?"

Viper thought about it, fingers on his chin. "I don't think so," he said. "He just grabbed a bowl and suddenly he dropped it. It was instant."

"Hmm..." Jonah sighed. _Maybe he was wrong? But still..._ Looking up, he saw the junction hall. "Oh. I can go back to my room from here, Senior Viper."

"You sure?"

Jonah nodded, giving a small smile. "I'll be fine. Good night."

Viper nodded back at him and kept walking forward while Jonah turned right. Or at least just for a few steps before stopping in the middle of the hallway. Glancing back behind him. He couldn't see the Scarabia senior. _Maybe he could make sure for a bit..._

Turning around, Jonah walked down the same hallway he went through before, doing some basic elimination in his head. Passing the lounge, he finally reached the kitchen. Looking at the door, making sure no one was there, he opened the door. The kitchen was dark and empty, just as he expected.

Grim tossed in his arm, opening his eyes. "Are we finally sneaking out?" he mumbled.

"Not really," Jonah answered, walking into the kitchen. "I need to confirm something." He looked around the room, spotting a single big trash can at the corner. After placing Grim on the counter, Jonah walked to the trashcan and opened the lid.

"Ew! Jonah! What are you doing?" Grim watched Jonah, disgusted when the boy put his hand into the trash can and digging into it.

"Shut up. Watch my back," Jonah hissed. Grim covered his nose with his paws from the horrible smell, but the boy blatantly ignored it. Jonah emptied the trashcan, opening all the plastic filled with vegetable skins, wrappers, and expired yogurt. Once he was done, he stepped back, looking at the mess he had made. He clicked his tongue. "Nothing here, uh."

"What are you looking for?!" Jonah ignored him again and walked to the fridge. On the wall, the kitchen has cabinets where the students kept the utensils. Jonah started to pace, counting the door. If his memories served him correctly, the door he was looking for was...

"Here." Opening the door, he found the bowls, stacked to the top. No bowls were left on the counter below it. And the floor under it was clean. "How curious..."

"HEY!"

Grim and Jonah whipped their head to the door. Ashoka and Chandra stormed in, shining their glowing magical pen at him. "Why are you two still up?" barked Ashoka.

Jonah raised both of his hands. "Sorry," he said, trying to sound guilty. "I'm looking for a drink but I knocked down the trashcan. I'll clean it up."

Chandra sighed. "Dude. Please don't make our job harder." He walked to the corner of the kitchen and picked up one of the brooms that were lined up. "We don't want to lock you in your room too. We can't risk Prefect Kalim lashing out."

"Kalim's order, huh?" Jonah mumbled, accepting the broom that was offered to him.

Ashoka sighed, leaning back at the counter. "There's a lot more students who try to sneak out." He messed his hair with a frustrated growl. "And Mustafa said that the prefect doesn't seem to listen to Vice Prefect Jamil's advice too..."

Jonah hummed, feeling a little bad for them. _But maybe he can finally reveal this. He's this close and only missing a few more pieces..._

After cleaning up, Ashoka and Chandra escorted the Ramshackle Duo back to their room. They made a compromise that both of them won't try to escape so they didn't have to lock the door from the outside. Ashoka and Chandra were grateful for this and agree instantly. Jonah gave them one last good night smile before closing the door.

"So. Did you find what you're looking for?" Grim asked from his position on their bed. "Whatever it was?"

"Sort of," Jonah answered. "I need one more to confirm my theory." He walked to his suitcase and picked up the orb, already glowing. "Right on time as well."

"Wait. You're doing it again?" Grim asked. "How can you be sure that weird vision will help you?"

"Well, I'll take every clue I can get." Opening the orb with one hand, green light filled the room once again. A loud bang of giant twin doors opening solidified the light, revealing a throne room. The man in a fancy robe, with a red parrot on his shoulder strode into the room, where a small older man sat on the throne with a giant elephant head above it.

**_"Sire, I've found a solution to the problem with your daughter."_ **

He unfurled the long scroll he was carrying as started to read.

**_"'If the princess has not chosen a husband by the appointed time, then the sultan shall choose for her'."_ **

The smaller man, who they've guess was probably the sultan, sighed.

**_"But Jasmine hated all those suitors. How could I choose someone she hates?"_ **

**_"Not to worry, My Liege. There is more. 'If in the event a suitable prince cannot be found, a princess must then be wed to...' Hmm... Interesting..."_ **

**_"What? Who?"_ **

**_"'...the royal vizier'. Why, that would be... Me."_ **

The sultan didn't notice how the vizier smiled wickedly along with the parrot. He picked the end of the scroll that was presented to him, maybe looking for more explanations.

**_"But I thought the law says that only a prince can marry a princess. I'm quite sure that..."_ **

**_"Desperate times call for desperate measures, My Lord."_ **

Rolling the scroll again and throwing it away, the vizier stepped closer, holding up his golden cobra staff. The eyes of the snake lit up in red light, but what more surprising was the sultan's eyes were also glowing red.

**_"Yes. Desperate measures."_ **

His voice slowed down, a little bit slurred. His body relaxed and his glowing eyes kept staring at the staff.

**_"You will order the princess to marry me."_ **

**_"I will order... The princess... To..."_ **

Suddenly the sound of fanfare boomed, snapping the sultan from the stance.

**_"What? What is that? That music."_ **

The sultan ran to the balcony, ignoring the way the vizier clicked his tongue in annoyance but followed him nonetheless. Jonah and Grim also followed him. On the street below, a parade was happening. Dancers, marching bands, sword throwers marched to the palace. And on top of an elephant, sitting in his own palanquin was a young man dressed in white.

**_"Make way for Prince Ali! Say hey! It's Prince Ali!"_ **

As confetti rained from the sky, the vision blurred and once again the two of them were back at their Scarabia room.

"Hypnotize..." Grim turned to Jonah. The boy reached to his mouth, smiling widely behind his hand, borderline laughing like a maniac. He jumped from the bed, skipping as he paced around. "Of course! Hah! It made sense now!"

"What is?" Grim tried to ask. To be honest, he was slightly scared.

Johan spun around to face Grim. "I told you that one of these Scarabia students is the parrot man, right?" he asked. To that Grim nodded, so Jonah continued. "That parrot man hypnotized the sultan so he can marry the princess. The same can be applied here. Scarabia's parrot man probably hypnotized Kalim as he becomes a tyrant, turning his training camp miserable."

"How can you be so sure? Like, do you even know who this parrot man is?"

"There's only one student I can think of." He walked to the window, tapping the glass. Out there he could see the window to the prefect room where someone just turned to the light. The smile slipped from his face. "But, there they probably have different goals." He looked down to his feet. "I have to stay one more day."

"What?!" Grim flew toward him, grabbing the collar of his hood, and started screaming in his face. "Why would you want to stay?! The door is unlocked we can escape any time we want! What's stopping you?"

Jonah bit inside his cheek. His eye trailed to the once lit prefect room. He mumbled, "Kalim."

Grim was taken back. "What? Why?"

"I know this will sound impossible, but I've made up my mind." Pushing Grim aside for a bit, Jonah opened his suitcase, digging inside to take out a pen and paper. Swiping the screen of his arm, he opened his phonebook and copying two numbers before folding the paper. He sighed and took off his eyepatch. "Grim. Can I trust you with something?" Jonah walked toward him, slipping the paper into Grim’s bow and made sure it won’t fell off. "These are the phone number of Ace and the headmaster. If you ever get out of here, once you get a signal, call them immediately."

"Wait. What about you?" Grim looked up to him again. "I'm not leaving without you."

"I know." Jonah patted Grim’s head, earning a sad purr from him. "But just in case we got separated, we'll have a way to get outside help." His hand trailed down so he reached under Grim’s chin, scratching it lightly. "You're my most trusted crew. And this is your captain's order."

Grim stared into Jonah's glowing eye. We opened his mouth to protest, but everything died down in his tongue. He sighed and nodded. "Aye, aye, Captain."

Jonah smiled and pulled Grim into a hug, running his hand through his fur. "If I can somehow stop that snake from slithering, then I'll do it," he muttered to himself. "I can't let another heartbreak happen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two parts of Jonah being a detective is finally up!  
> Well. It's pretty obvious who done it right.  
> Anyway, Pomefiore is going to update today! I'm ready to get crushed!


	118. Outburst of Complaints! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is filled with exposition and people complaining about stuff.

"Get a move on!" Kalim screamed from his palanquin on top of his elephant. "We're moving slower than we did yesterday!"

Ashoka let out a groan, leaning to the horse he was riding. "I don’t want that..." he whined, dragging his lowered flag because of his weak arm, "Let me sleep...!"

Jamil walked slower until he could walk next to Ashoka's horse. "Hang in there, okay?" he said, patting the other student's thigh. "Just a little more and we can rest!"

Ashoka's eyes were shining in gratefulness. "Vice Prefect..." he sniffed, "You're so kind..." Jamil gave a small smile and strode back to his position.

Kalim huffed and pouted, not enjoying his time. None of them were. It was as if nature was conspiring against them along with Kalim. The sun and sand were hotter than yesterday, it felt like they were being grilled alive and the hood of their uniform, nonetheless their black, heat-absorbing, sleeveless uniform, and sandals didn't help at all.

Kalim glanced up when they finally arrived at the oasis. "Everyone, stop!"

Grim took off his feather crown and threw it to the ground. "I’m so thirsty..."

He crawled on his stomach to the oasis, letting a scream when it was empty. He looked back to Kalim who still on the elephant. "Kalim, can you summon some water or something?"

Even from the place, Kalim's glare could still be effective and dangerous. "You dare to ask me like that?!"

Grim squeaked. It wasn't just Grim, mostly everyone, including Jamil, turned to Kalim in surprise. Kalim raised his chin. "I’m not your personal water supply. If you want water, then draw some from the oasis yourself." He pulled the curtain of his palanquin, blocking him from everyone else.

Chandra fell to his knees. "We... We have to... It's a fucking dried-up oasis!"

Mustafa glanced to the said oasis, hissing through his gritted teeth. "This is getting too far."

Yudhi wiped his brow, looking like he was about to cry. "What happened to the prefect...?" He inhaled sharply. "How long are we supposed to take this...?!"

"Hey, it's okay." Jalim pressed a water bottle onto Yudhi's cheek. "I knew this would happen, so I packed some water." He looked around at the thirsty students. "Go get them from the camels and share with everyone."

Yudhi sighed. "Thank you very much, Jamil." He opened the bottle and gulped the entire content. "You know, you would be a great prefect."

"I second that," Ashoka said. "Ever since he started acting like that, you’ve been doing the prefect’s work, Senior Jamil..." He crushed the now-empty plastic water bottle in his hand. "How do you bear taking orders from someone like him?"

Jamil sighed. "Because..." He glanced at the closed palanquin. "Because he's Kalim al-Asim."

All of this exchange didn't go unnoticed for Jonah who leaned against a dried-up tree, still holding his water bottle. Grim was sitting by his feet, drinking his water. Jonah knelt beside him, putting his hand on the cat's head to gain his attention. "Remember, Grim," he whispered. "If anything happens to any one of us, the other must escape and call for help."

Grim looked up to him. _He knew why they had to do this. The reason was obvious: they had to escape from this nightmare. But..._

Jonah's eye was still on the Scarabia students. _One of them to be precise..._

* * *

Evening came to Scarabia and the students gathered in the lounge, including Jonah and Grim who sat the furthest from the group. "

"I managed to get Kalim to sleep," Jamil said, stepping to the front of the students. "I..." he cleared his throat, before continuing, "I understand that you’re feeling unsatisfied with Kalim right now. He’s keeping you all in the dorm and making you train during the holidays. He’s definitely being unreasonable." He sighed. "I don’t think that he’s doing the right thing either."

"Then why do you let him keep doing what he wants!?" asked Ashoka.

"I tried multiple times," Jamil responded. "He just didn’t listen to me at all."

"Yanno, you guys can take your complaints straight to Kalim if you’re that unsatisfied with it," Grim said. "Why go to Jamil first? Scared?"

Ashoka hesitated. "That’s, um... Well, it’s..."

Yudhi fiddled with his fingers. "When he wasn't in one of his moods, he's really nice and bubbly, and just..." He gave a small nostalgic smile. "I... We respect that."

Chandra sighed. "Yeah... When I got lost when I first moved to the dorm, he listened and help me find my room and walked me through every day until I can memorize the hallway."

Ashoka ran his hand through his hair. "I remember being really down to the point of dropping out of school." He sighed. "But the prefect accompanied me all the time. He let me vent about my problem until I feel better."

Yudhi let out a small laugh. "He’s a little bit random and sometimes hopeless, but we really liked him a lot."It was fun being a part of Scarabia. And now..."

Jamil sighed. "Yes, Kalim’s a really good Prefect. He doesn’t play favorites and he’s very humble and approachable." He frowned. "I wonder what happened..."

"This kinda reminded me of the whole mess with Riddle and Ace." Grim looked up to Jonah. "Don't you think?"

Jonah nodded. "Yeah." He looked at the other students. "Senior Kalim is maybe just as harsh as Senior Riddle back then."

"What did you do back then?" Jamil asked.

Jonah stood up from his seat. "Well, Ace and Deuce challenged Riddle for the prefect position." He looked at everyone before focusing on Jamil. "If you guys disagree, why don't you, I don't know, challenge him?"

Jamil seemed baffled. "That's..." He looked down at his palms. "That's something I can't do."

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him, shoving his hand into his vest pocket. "Oh? And why is that?"

Jamil curled his fingers, lowered his trembling fists down. "It'll be a treason against the Asim family for a retrainer to raise their sword against his master." He looked up to Jonah, glaring at him, despite the captain putting on a neutral face. "If Kalim's father ever found out, my family will end up being punished. I can't put them in danger because of a selfish reason."

"That's understandable, Jamil." Mustafa stood up from his seat as well, giving Jonah a questioning glance, before looking back at the vice prefect. "But you need to understand that Kalim isn't fulfilling the conditions of being a prefect, and he’s being contrary to Scarabia’s heart and soul."

"Wait. What are those?" Grim asked.

"Well, one of the requirements of being a prefect in Night Raven College is to be 'someone who is the most fitting for the dorm’s very core'," Yudhi explained. "In the case that there’s no best candidate, then the easiest way to find that person is by dueling. Each dorm has its own conditions, so 'being fitting' varies from each dorm to dorm as well. For example, as you know, Heartslabyul's prefect needs to be capable to uphold even the most ridiculous rule, while Pomefiore's prefect is someone who can make the strongest poison."

"For Scarabia, it has to be someone who is cunning and with careful planning," Mustafa continued. "And in my opinion, Jamil here is a more perfect candidate than Kalim."

Jamil gasped. "That's- No. There’s no way I’ll be fitting as the Prefect."

"Don't say that!" Ashoka yelled. "You are way better than Kalim!"

"Why didn't the last prefect choose you anyway?" Chandra asked.

Jamil rolled his eyes. "There’s no way that a relative to the Asim Family will choose anyone aside from Kalim-" His eyes widened and he slapped his hand over his mouth. But it was too late to take anything back.

"Oh?" Jonah's lips curled up. "I see it now..."

"HAH?!" Ashoka yelled. "So it was just because of his connections!"

"That’s not fair!" Chandra cried. "The Asim Family’s being biased!"

Jamil raised his hands, trying to calm the protests among them. "I beg of you to forget what you just heard."

"Jamil, I'm sorry, but you know as well that this is not fair." Yudhi said, standing up. "The rule of Night Raven College stated that students from every corner of Twisted Wonderland while enrolling the academy, do not belong to any country, organization, or household."

"In other words, the academy is served as a neutral ground," Mustafa added. "If we have the heir to the Valley of Thorn and the second prince of Afterglow Savannah being treated as normal students, why does the son of the Asim merchant family get these special treatments?"

"That’s..." Jamil looked around at the angry students. "Still-"

"What do you think, guys?" Ashoka asked everyone. "Who do you think is a much better prefect?"

The responses were obvious.

"It’s Jamil, of course!"

"Jamil’s a lot more fitting to be Scarabia’s prefect!"

"Just because we’re from a nameless household doesn’t mean that we have to listen to an incompetent prefect!"

"We don’t need an incompetent prefect here!"

"We don’t need Kalim Al-Asim!"

"Don't need me, huh?"

Everyone froze on their spot. Glancing to the entrance, Jonah saw Kalim stepping in, red eyes flickering in anger. "Ka-Kalim...!" Jamil tried to step forward, but Kalim raised his hand, stopping him.

"It seems like our training wasn’t enough. You seem pretty energetic." He glared at them. "ALL OF YOU! TO THE COURTYARD!"

"C-Courtyard...?" Chandra gulped.

"We’ll do training until they can’t stand anymore. Anyone who gets left behind will do double the training!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Mustafa yelled. "We're at our limit, Kalim-"

Suddenly Kalim took out his magical pen and shot a hard stream of water toward Mustafa, throwing him back to Jamil. Both of them collapsed to the floor, soaking wet.

"Did I stutter?" Kalim growled. Everyone stepped back, shocked and scared witnessing the first time Kalim had ever used magic against anyone. "All of you, move out!"

In the midst of students running, Jonah managed to catch Jamil by the arm. "Come with me."

Jamil looked up to him. "But Kalim's order-"

"He won't notice." Glancing to Kalim who walked out. "Come on." Not waiting for any response, Jonah pulled Jamil aside. Waiting for Kalim to turn down the hall, the two students ran in the opposite direction toward the kitchen. Like last night, the kitchen was empty, considering everyone was in the courtyard. Nobody could disturb them.

"Jonah, what's wrong?" Jamil tried, looking at Jonah who let go of his arm and closed the door. The smaller boy leaned his back against it, breathing to calm himself down before looking up at him.

"You want to know what's wrong?" Jonah asked back, "Why don't you explain it yourself, Jamil Viper? After all..." Jamil stepped back in shock. Jonah glared at him.

"You're the reason behind everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The full plan will be revealed in the next chapter.  
> Also, Jonah may or may not die.


	119. One Skip Ahead of My Doom! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Jonah is making a horrible decision, Grim yeets himself out of this place.

"Jonah, what's wrong?" Jamil tried, looking at Jonah who let go of his arm and closed the door. The smaller boy leaned his back against it, breathing to calm himself down before looking up at him.

"You want to know what's wrong?" Jonah asked back. "Why don't you explain it yourself, Jamil Viper? After all..." Jamil stepped back in shock. Jonah glared at him. "You're the reason behind everything."

Jamil shook his head and his black eyes were wide. "I have no idea what you are saying."

"Shut the yaps, Viper," Jonah snarled. "Every time Senior Kalim went away, you followed him and when both of you came back, Senior Kalim returned to be a tyrant. You did something to him, didn't you? You mind-controlled him to be a tyrant and turn this fun training camp into hell, just like how the vizier hypnotized the sultan so that he could marry the princess."

Jonah stepped forward, hand still in his pocket and chin raised. "This also adds up to the inconsistencies. It was weird when he said back then that he had sent a letter to the students’ parents when there wasn't any time gap between the magic carpet ride and dinner, so you must've sent it before the ride. And to make sure no parents can contact their children, the connection somehow turned death despite I could do a group chat a day before the announcement."

In turn, Jamil stepped back, hands trembling beside him, but Jonah just kept on. "And you lied to me. You said back then that Senior Kalim's 'mood swing' was instant that he broke a bowl, but considering the time gap between both of you leaving and after training. I've paid attention to all, including you, and none of them dare to leave training to the kitchen, including you, thus if Senior Kalim did break the bowl, there should be glass shards on the ground or in the trashcan. But there are none. Which means, whatever happened there wasn't instant or surprising."

By the time Jamil's back hit the wall and Jonah's hand slammed beside his head, he knew he was trapped. His glare was just as fiery as the smaller boy's. "And what do you get from all of this? Since you can't go against Senior Kalim, you can make everyone do your job. If they turn their back against Kalim and get rid of him, you, the most trusted and reliable person here, will be the prefect without fault." Jonah's eye twinkled in victory, lips curled into a smirk. "Did I miss something? Feel free to add."

...

...

Jamil closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I knew you are smarter than you look."

_This was supposed to be the answer he was looking for. He had him cornered, he stated the facts. He had won. But then..._

"Are you really going betray Senior Kalim just to be the prefect?" Jonah asked.

"Being a prefect is just a small step in the way." He didn't look panic or even countering his claims. He looked too fucking calm! "My goal is much bigger than that. You're smart enough to figure it out, aren't you? I'll give you a hint: look around and what do you see?"

Jonah didn't dare to glance around, but Jamil didn't mind. "The Scarabia dorm is much grander than any other. You know why? Because Kalim's father meddled in the dorm. As the biggest donator of the academy, Headmaster Crowley had no choice but to listen to their request, including letting Kalim transferred here for some goddamn reason." He spat the last part as if it was poison in his mouth. "So, once again, even in school, I have to babysit him."

"But if Senior Kaim is out of the picture..."

"I don't need to babysit him anymore. I can do whatever I want. I can finally be my true self without any restrictions of being below my master. I can finally be free." Jamil chuckled, making Jonah's stomach twisted. "They always say to follow your dream and I'm doing it right now. What's wrong with that?"

"But… You're going behind Senior Kalim's back. You're betraying him."

"Well, sacrifices must be done."

"You're gonna crush his heart, Viper." Jonah never realized how his voice trembled. "Don't you have feelings?"

"And what about my feelings?" Jamil asked back and it was Jonah turned to be speechless. "How come a brat like him can get whatever he wants and not me? Because he's rich while I'm poor. Rich boy privilege, my ass."

_"Though Jamil tells me that I'm worrying too much sometimes. I wish that he'd take it a little bit easy, too, you know..."_

_Jonah stared at him. "You really care about Senior Viper, huh?"_

_Kalim let out a soft chuckled. He was looking ahead, reminiscing. "Jamil had been there since I was a kid. His family serves me for a very long time. And he... Well, he was just there. All the time. I know he's just doing his duty but I... I just couldn't help it."_

The hand beside Jamil's head slipped along with the angry mask Jonah had been wearing. Now, he looked sad. Brow furrowed and biting his lips with a watery eye. "Viper, I know you're pissed off," he said, voice soft. "You're angry at everything, I get it. But betraying him won't solve anything. It'll only cause pain between the both of you. I know what it's like."

He didn’t want both of them to be in the same position as he was before. He couldn't imagine Kalim glaring at Jamil with the same pain in his eyes. He didn't want Jamil to try to choke Kalim with so much anger. He couldn't imagine the two of them trying to kill each other. Oh, how heartbroken Kalim would be if he hears these words from Jamil's own mouth.

"Don't make the same mistake as I do." _Don't be like me and Ashengrotto. Please don't be like both of us._

But Jamil looked unfazed. "This is where you're wrong, Captain." He pushed Jonah back, now gaining the dominant position. "Unlike you and Azul, I have no sympathy over Kalim. Unlike you soft-hearted babies, I don't care what will happen between him and me."

_“I know he's just doing his duty but I... I just couldn't help it.”_

_“Help with what?” Jonah asked again._

_Kalim traced the pattern of the carpet. “Every time Jamil is near me, everything seems brighter and warmer. It's like everything can be better as long as I'm with him.”_

He stepped forward, causing Jonah to step back. "Maybe after this, I still become his servant, but in NRC, I can be free from him. Scarabia will be my neutral ground for me to do whatever I want and, if Kalim has any brain cells left to understand, he knows not to mess with me anymore."

_It was then they passed the bright full moon. As Kalim lifted his head toward Jonah, the captain's eye widened._

_“I guess, you can see that... I'm in love with him."_

"You'll regret this." Jonah didn't know whether he sound angry or sad. Maybe both actually.

Jamil chuckled. "No, Jonah. You’re gonna regret ever stepping into my boundaries."

It happened so fast. Jonah didn't even see the fist aiming to the face, only feeling the pain afterward. His brain was still processing when Jamil slipped aside, quickly striking Jonah on his left shoulder blade and right hip. Jonah’s eyes widened, a gasp escaped his lips as he limply crumpled to the ground.

"The headmaster might not believe us if we tell him about Kalim not being a good prefect, but he might listen to you. I know you'll be a great help in convincing him." A pair of feet came into Jonah's vision but he couldn't turn his head. _Damn it. He couldn't move at all!_

Jamil knelt beside him, chuckling at the paralyzed captain. "I'm not going back from this, just like how the Grand Vizier didn't quit when that meddling Street Rat came in."

 _Street Rat?_ A questioning sound came from Jonah's mouth.

"You don't know? In the end, that prince turned out to be just the mere Street Rat with the help of his genie. The Grand Vizier took the lamp and send the Street Rat to the end of the earth. He became the most powerful sorcerer in the world and took the throne as the new sultan." Jamil grabbed him by the hair, turning his face toward the smirking vice prefect. "As you noted, we're quite similar. But this time I'll make sure to stay on the top. Which means, I can't have you run around spouting all of this, can I?" Jamil's other hand reached for Jonah’s left eyes, opening it wide. A magic circle appeared around Jamil's iris and Jonah knew he fucked up badly.

" ** _[The one reflected in your eyes is your master. If I ask, you shall answer me; if I command it, you shall bow to me...]_** "

_Kalim... Grim..._

_I'm sorry..._

Everything became muffled after that and he was cut off from the world.

* * *

"Where is he?" Grim grumbled, pacing around the room, waiting for the other occupant to return. His body was sore but he couldn't help it. Neither Jonah nor Jamil came for training. Jonah should be back by now. _Did something happen to him? Maybe he got captured? Maybe they found out that we’re going to escape?! If that's the case that he had to save him_ -

_"Grim. Can I trust you with something? These are the phone number of Ace and the headmaster. If you ever get out of here, once you get a signal, call them immediately."_

_Ah! The phone numbers!_ Grim reached to the knot of his Scarabia-colored bow, feeling the folded paper. "I have to escape and call for help..." he mumbled. _But that means leaving Jonah. He can't do that! As if he would-_

_"Remember, Grim. If anything happens to any one of us, the other must escape and call for help."_

_"But-"_

_"You're my most trusted crew. And this is your captain's order."_

Grim let out a scream, gripping his hair, threatening to pull his fur. "Fine, fine! I'll get help!" He let out a sigh, grumbling in the end. "Dammit. Can't go against the captain's order."

Packing every stuff they had, Grim took the suitcase bigger than himself, holding it on top of his head with his two paws, he opened the door with his forked-tail as a hook. The hallways were empty when Grim poked his head out of the door. Grim tip-toed as quiet as he could, hiding behind altars of golden vases and fancy curtains, while his eyes still glance around to find any sign of the captain.

"Jonah, where are you?" he whispered. When they reached the junction hall, a loud whistle rang.

"Fgnna?! What’s that sound!?" Grim jumped, looking around until he spotted Chandra down the hall with his glowing magical pen in his direction.

"HEY! Where are you going with that bag?!"

"Awawa... This is bad...!" Grim ran off as fast as he could down the hall, not really caring the direction. He needed to get out of this mad place!

"The cat is running away! After him!"

"Don't let him escape under Prefect Kalim's order!"

Grim jumped on top of a vase when a boy swung his pen at him. Grim jumped over him, pulling his pants with his teeth as he ran away again, leaving the poor boy fixing his pants. Another guard came in front of Grim, but the cat ducked between his legs, tumbling down the stairs. Despite the pain and the potential concussion, Grim just kept running with the suitcase. A bunch of guards came in the way, but Grim once again jumped, hopping from one head to the other. The shouting kept on going and Grim honestly was getting tired. He didn't have a choice, he had to hide. Looking up, he noticed the tapestry hanging above him. With a spit of a fireball, Grim cut the rope. The tapestry came down, covering the guards, giving Grim enough time and distraction to turn in the corner, and slipped into the first unlocked door he could find.

The cat was panting heavily, his back sliding down the door until he sat on the floor. "Damn they're stubborn..." he heaved. _Is there no other way for him to escape and get help? Jonah is counting on him, dammit!_

_*poke* *poke*_

"Hm?"

_*poke* *poke*_

Some hairy touched his back paws before turning into tickling, making Grim burst into laughter from Grim. "S-Stop it!" He couldn't really anything ahead his arm reached. He needed some light. "Oh! I know!" Rubbing his paws together, he whispered, " ** _[Lumos]_**." The gem around his neck shone a light so bright that it lit the entire room.

"Kalim's treasure vault?! Nobody locked this room?" He huffed. "Geez, rich people are so careless."

_*poke* *poke*_

Turning his head, Grim let out a scream as he scooted away from the floating magic carpet. The carpet bent its head, probably confused why there was someone in there this late in the night. "You?!" _Wait. Kalim's magic carpet... Ah!_ "YOU!"

The carpet jumped back, startled at Grim’s sudden excitement. Grim ran toward him, holding one of his tassels with both paws. "Hey, Carpet." He smiled, trying his best to look convincing. "I'm gonna take you out for a walk, so let's find some fresh air out of this dorm. Alright!"

The carpet, obviously excited for every chance of flying, jumped in joy before flying around Grim as a gesture similar to a hug. It laid out for him and Grim climbed up with the suitcase, sitting on it like a driver seat. "LET'S RIDE!" Grim shouted excitedly as the carpet zoomed, equally excited, out the treasure vault. Passing the Scarabia's night patrol, Grim and carpet skyrocketed into the air.

"Ah! Look up there!"

"They’re using the Prefect’s magic carpet!"

"They escaped and stole, too...!"

"What will the Prefect do to us when he finds out...?"

The poor students below them were persistent thought, still trying to catch up on foot.

"Catch them at all costs!"

"WAIT, YOU THIEVES!"

Grim clicked his tongue. "I need to get rid of them off my tail." He looked down at his vehicle.

"Um... How do we control the magic carpet...?" He vaguely remembered Kalim pulled the right tassels. _Maybe that would work?_

"Uwah!?" Without warning, the carpet did a loop-de-loop. "Dammit, you!" Grim pulled another tassel, but the carpet abruptly changed direction. "OI! LISTEN TO ME!" It became some sort of a wrestling match in the air. Their flying became much uncoordinated, zipping all over the place and spinning around until so often that you wanted to puke from motion sickness.

"They’re right outside the dorm!"

"After them!"

Grim screamed bloody murder as the carpet suddenly dove toward the portal mirror. Grim screwed his eyes shut from the incoming mirror, but instead, they went through it, escaping to the Hall of Mirrors. However, with Grim's eyes closed and the confused carpet, it took a sharp turn, entering another mirror. Grim could vaguely felt something harsh and wet hitting his face before gravity took over once again, crashing into something very solid and finally landed among the debris.

"What the-!"

Grim was still in a daze from the adrenaline rush before he could register where he was now. "Ahh..." he groaned, winching from the pain, "Where am I..."

"Wait. Grim?"

Grim's ears caught a vague sound of footstep along with the tapping cane. A face suddenly came into his view. A very familiar face that Grim wanted to punch so bad.

"Mafia boss... Azul..."

And then he was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full sushi platter will be served in the next chapter. Captain Argentum won’t be joining dinner with us.


	120. Falling Underwater! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Grim crashed into Mostro Lounge*  
> Azul: Hey, Grim.  
> Grim: Hey, Azul. That hurt...

The cat among the rubbles didn't move after whispering the sentence. Even tapping his head with his cane didn't wake him up. The Octavinelle Prefect frowned. _What in the world happened to the cat?_ Something was twitching underneath Grim. Azul knelt and pushed the cat off the object. A beautiful woven carpet sprung up, shaking itself to get rid of the dust and pebbles. "A magic carpet?" he mumbled in confusion. _Where did he manage to get it?_ He looked around the rubbles again until he spotted an opened suitcase. The clothes were spilled out, along with other items-

-Including a golden sphere-like object.

Footsteps from two different directions caught his ears. Even without looking behind him, he knew that Jade and Floyd had arrived. At the same time, a pair of Scarabia students, a blond and a purplenette, came bursting through the door.

"We got him!" the blond shouted.

"Oh," Azul stood up, facing the newcomers. "Can I help you?"

The purplenette squeaked, jumping to hide behind his blond friend. "A-A-A-Azul Ashengrotto!" he shrieked.

Azul titled his head, staring at them blankly. "I'll repeat: Can I help you?"

The purplenette nudged the blond, still clearly afraid. The blond cleared his throat, hiding his magical pen behind his back. "We're here to take Grim back. He tried to escape from our training camp."

Azul glanced at the unconscious cat before looking back at the Scarabia students. "Can I ask why he escapes in the first place?"

"I-It's none of Octavinelle's concern!" the blond screamed, followed by his gulp.

"Hah?" Floyd and Jade stepped forward, positioning themselves slightly in front of. "Who do you think you’re talking to?" His threatening voice managed to make the two boys stepped back.

"I cannot allow any sort of scuffle here in Mostro Lounge," Azul continued, tapping his cane in front of Grim's face, blocking him. "This is a gentleman’s place, after all."

"Y-You can't just interfere like this!" shouted the purplenette.

The blond gritted his teeth. "We have no choice then!" He pointed his magical pen toward Azul, orange gem glowing. "We'll just take them all by force!"

Azul raised his chin. "Hmph, I am afraid that I cannot make a deal with such rowdy customers." He tapped his cane, creating a bubble force-field around him and Grim. "Jade, Floyd. Throw them out."

"Okay~" "Alright." When the Leech Twins stepped forward, the blond struck first, stomping his foot, sending jagged ice from the ground toward the twins, but Jade dashed out of the way while Floyd jumped out. The purplenette spun his magical pen, creating some sort of electric whip, and tried to attack Floyd. But Floyd was more agile than he thought (and he should've known this), back-flipping, cart-wheeling, and attacking back just with his physical body. Jade attack, sending sharp droplets toward the purplenette, but the blond came between them, bringing his hand forward to freeze the water. Floyd jumped toward the blond, hitting him in the right spot that caused his arms to go paralyzed. The purplenette slashed his whipped toward Jade, but the eel boy just skipped every spark. With one strike from his water, he disarmed the purplenette.

"D-Damn it...!" gritted the blond.

"W-We need to fall back!" the purplenette winched. He pointed his finger at the Octavinelle Trio, declaring, "We'll be back." He picked up his friends and ran out of the lounge.

"Get lost, you little guppies!" Floyd laughed.

Jade bowed slightly with a hand on his chest. "We shall be awaiting your next visit."

Azul tapped his cane again, lowering his water shield. "Now with that's out of the way." Azul looked up. The hole in the ceiling won't be much of a problem, a simple _reparo_ charm would do the trick. The other problem, however…

"Heh~?" Floyd crouched down, poking Grim's sleeping face. "What did little piranha caught himself into this time?"

"And that carpet." Jade pointed at the still floating magic carpet. "It looks very similar to the magic carpet that Kalim keeps..."

Azul stayed silent. His eyes drifted from Grim to the golden orb.

_Jonah..._

* * *

The first thing Grim registered when his consciousness had returned was the strange smell, followed by how comfy the ground underneath him. _Is he dead? Is he above the clouds now?_ He groaned, scrunching his eyes. _He can’t be dead now. Jonah needs him! He has to save him!_

Slowly opening his eyes, he could he the white ceiling. _Where is he?_ The room was slightly wider than his Ramshackle Dorm and way more than Scarabia’s guest room. The white wallpaper has a wavy motif and the floor has light purple pattern tile. It was a pretty standard room, actually: cupboard on one wall while the others have racks for various knick-knacks. It was when he glanced to the vanity mirror table and saw the person who was sitting on the stool that he realized the strange smell he had been inhaling was the smell of seawater.

“Waaa-aaaahh!” The cat screamed, skittering to the edge of the bed and pulling the blanket with him. Azul turned his head slightly toward him before putting Jonah’s golden orb on the table. _Dammit! Escape from one tyrant, only to be caught by a mafia boss after._

“Good. You’re awake.” Azul stood up from his stool and walked to the edge of the bed across Grim. The cat eyed the mafia boss suspiciously, fur rose and teeth gritted, ready to pounce whenever he could. Azul rolled his eyes. “Please. Is this how you treat the one who saved you?”

“Hmmp!” Grim threw his head to the side. “I have nothing to thank you for.”

“Oh really? I could’ve just handed you back to Scarabia. There’s just a few mirrors away.” Grim squeaked and Azul knew he struck the nerve. “Especially since they said that you escape from them.”

“Well, maybe if Kalim isn’t being a big tyrant, then we won’t be trying to escape,” Grim grumbled.

Azul perked up at this. “‘We’? As in Jonah was with you?”

Grim eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his paws. Azul frowned. “Why isn’t Jonah with you now?” Grim shook his head. “Oi…” Azul tapped his cane to the ground and water tentacles suddenly sprung around the bed. Grim screamed, trying to escape but the tentacles were blocking his ways.

“I’m being generous here, Grim,” Azul said in a low voice. “You won’t be going anywhere until you tell me what happened in Scarabia.” When Grim wanted to protest, Azul added, “The longer you struggle, the longer Jonah has to wait for you.”

That shut Grim up. He let out a hissy meow. “Alright. Alright! I’ll tell you!”

“Good.” Azul tapped his cane again, disbanding his water tentacles. “Now. From the beginning.”

As Grim told his story, he couldn’t help but stare at the Octavinelle Prefect. His clothes were still as tidy as usual but with minor detail. His hat was a little tipped off, he forgot to button-up one button, and his scarf is missing. Not to mention, his eyes looked duller than the usual silver-blue with bags underneath them. He might be a bit paler, but Grim couldn’t tell. _He just… Didn’t look so well._

“Scarabia’s Prefect acting like a despot...?” Azul muttered, one hand on his chin, “But Jonah might know who is behind this and tries to find them but hadn’t returned, so you escaped to find some help?” He sighed. “That sounds like something that he would do. Throwing his life just to make sure his friends are well.”

Grim hissed. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then shut up.” He then stretched out his arm. “I demand a phone.”

Azul raised an eyebrow at him. “And why you need it?”

“What? You forget already?” Grim huffed. “It’s the captain’s order for me to call help.”

Azul’s eye twitched. “Apologies, Grim,” he said, his voice sounded like he’s holding back. “But it seemed you haven’t realized that we’re here as well.”

“As if, I’m letting you seafood get near Jonah anytime soon!”

“Hey.” Azul tapped his cane again, silencing him. He had struck the nerve. Azul looked so pissed off and somewhat disappointed. “I’ll humor you.” He dug his coat pocket before taking out a smartphone. “Here.” He threw it to the bed in front of Grim. “You can call for help and wait like a good pussycat you are in your little Ramshackle Dorm.”

Grim picked up the phone, but when he looked up, Azul had climbed to the bed, face hovering above him and his glare looked more menacing than before. “But, I need to point out that Night Raven College is located in a small island, far in the middle of the ocean,” he said in a low voice. “Whatever help you’re trying to get, it’ll take days, maybe even weeks, to get here. Does your precious captain can wait that long?”

Grim gasped. _He’s right. He never counted who long it would take for Ace or the headmaster to get here. What if they were too late? What if by the time they arrive Jonah is way beyond saving? He… He can’t fail this. Not now. He can’t disappoint him._

“It’s the captain’s order…” he whispered, holding the phone close to his chest.

Azul sighed. “Fine, then.” He pulled back, brushing the wrinkles off his coat. “Call them if you must.” Azul walked to the door but then he paused when he reached the handle. “But reconsider this.” He glanced at the cat one last time. “We’re probably the only source of help you can get right now.”

With that, he walked out of the room. Grim stared at the door for a second, absorbing the information, before looking back at the smartphone. With a tap, he let out a breath of relief when the signal bar was so high.

_Don’t worry, Jonah. He’ll get help._

* * *

_*ring, ring* *ring, ring* *ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring*_

Ace let out a groan and he reached for his phone with one hand while his eyes still glued on the raid boss on the screen. Taking a glance quickly, he saw the same unrecorded number that had been calling him three times by now. _What does this guy want? Will he leave him alone if he answers this one time?_ Swiping the screen and putting it on speaker, Ace put the phone just above the keyboard and greeted, "'Ello."

["Ace?! Great Seven, you finally pick up!"]

 _What the-_ His archer main missed the target when he glanced at the phone for a second. "Grim, is that really you?"

["Yeah, it's me! Listen we need your help."]

 _Did Jonah somehow change his phone number? No wonder they couldn't call them during the group chat._ "What's wrong?"

["Kalim had gone coocoo!"]

His archer nearly fell off the cliff. Ace spammed the space bar to climb back up. "Kalim?"

["The Scarabia prefect! He makes all the students go through tough training, yanno!"]

His party finally reached the main arena where the main boss is waiting. "But didn't you say the training camp is fun?"

["It was! But his freaking mood swings made him like Riddle!"]

His archer got hit by the boss's tail. "Moodswings don't do that."

["Yeah. Jonah is suspicious at it, so he went to investigate it but he hasn't come back."]

His character got hit again, now really low in health and stamina. "What do you mean he hasn't come back where are you right now?!"

["Octavinelle Jonah told me to escape and call for help because the signal suddenly disappeared from Scarabia! Please you gotta help us!"]

The boss let out its final strike, beating the party. Before he could be trained by angry comments, Ace logged out from the co-op mode and reached for his phone in a panic.

["Jonah is still in Scarabia and I don't trust this seafood."]

"The hell you're going to trust them!" Ace screamed to the phone as he ripped his headphone off his ear. He ran his hand down his face. _How did the captain manage to get himself in trouble? Fuck this!_ "Don't worry I'll get there as soon as I can!"

["Please do. I'm worried about Jonah."]

 _Shit. If Grim is this worried then the situations must be really bad._ "Just hang in there."

["Thanks. Hurry."]

With that the call it off. Ace held himself back from throwing his phone. Breathing heavily he leaned back his spiny chair. _He had to go back to NRC as quickly as possible. He got up, looking around his room. Should he start packing? What should he bring? Shit. If a storm suddenly hits, he should wear a heavy coat, right? But Scarabia is a desert as Senior Jamil mentioned once. Maybe he should bring supplies as well. Oh, med kit too! But he can do some healing spells. Maybe energy potion as well? Or his broom?_

"ARGH!" Ace pulled his hair frustration. "Damn to all!" _The captain is in trouble. He can't just sit here in his cozy while he's probably laying somewhere half death. What is he supposed to do?_

"Didn't you say you want to save him?"

He could feel the cold wind despite wearing his pajamas. _Didn't he close the window earlier?_ His gaze fell to the floor where a shadow clearly not his own obscured his. He turned around slowly and his eyes widened.

The proud man in a top hat stared down at him, his wing-like coat fluttered along with the curtain of his now opened window, he was standing him, back facing the pale moonlight, giving him a mysterious feel.

"Headmaster..." Ace found himself whispering. The question of 'how did you get in' and 'why are you here' died in his tongue.

The headmaster gave him a nod before stretching out his hand which Ace accepted. "There's not a moment to waste." He pulled the smaller boy up and guided him to the window.

Ace's eyes once again widened when there was a very familiar bluenette sitting on his blue one-wheeled motorcycle, parking in front of his house.

"Deuce?!"

"The headmaster came to me first!" Deuce grinned. "Come on, it's our turn to save the captain!"

Ace's lips curled into the biggest grin he could make. "Right!"

* * *

"Ace! Get off from your computer!"

A voice of a young man came from downstairs. Footsteps could be heard, getting louder and louder as a young man who looked like an older version of Ace approached the door with the sign 'Ace's Room' on it.

"Dinner's ready!" He knocked on the door. But no answer. The young man frowned. He reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. "Lil' bro?"

The yellow light from the hallway spilled into Ace's room, pouring over the first objects that would be caught, casting long shadows across the floor. The gentle breeze of the night blew in through the open window, gently rolling the curtains. The room was a mess and the computer was still on.

But the owner was nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss writing this boys. But at the same time, I have to write Azul as a tired boy after a breakup.  
> Also, as our tradition, I'll be destroying the canonical ending. Let's see whether the reinforcement can arrive in time or not.  
> Wait. Does this count as Crowley kidnapping Ace and Deuce?


	121. Tricky Smile! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OCTAVINELLE, entering Scarabia ala Kuzco: HAH! Boom baby!

"I didn't think Sea Otter got that kind of personality," Floyd muttered, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Indeed, he does not seem like the type at all, however." Jade flicked his wand, disbanding his magic. The roof no longer had a hole in it. He nodded, proud from his own handy work, before walking back to Azul and Floyd, with his brother sitting on the table while Azul sat on the chair behind him. "And Jamil must've felt exhausted from dealing with that. You are in the same class as Jamil, are you not, Azul?"

"Yeah." Azul pushed his glasses up his nose. "He does not make many demands... Or rather, I would say he's rather plain."

"Ah~ I'm in the basketball club with the Sea Snake, but he gives off the impression that he plays nice," Floyd said with a shrug. "I'm not interested in guys from other dorms, so I didn't notice, but he's Scarabia's Vice-Prefect~"

"The Vice-Prefect is troubled because of the Prefect's behavior..." Azul mumbled. For some reason, a certain Heartslabyul prefect came into his mind.

"Oi."

Looking up, they saw Grim flying toward them. Before Jade and Floyd could move, Azul stood up, walking toward Grim, and both met in the middle. "You're done with your business?"

"Yeah." Grim threw the phone and Azul caught it with one hand.

"How was it?"

"Ace is coming. But..."

Grim's tail wagged in frustration. Then, he let out a groan. "Look. I am desperate." He crossed his paws in front of his chest and glared at the Azul. "So, I'll let you tag along." Jade and Floyd exchanged a worried glance at each other before looking back to Azul who tensed.

"However..." Grim flew in front of Azul's face, glaring at him as if he could kill him with his stare. His voice lowered with a growl in the end. "If you ever make him tear up, I'll burn you."

Azul frowned but nodded. "I'll take that." He stepped back and turned around. "Jade, Floyd, pack up. We're going on a sunny vacation."

* * *

"This is bad. This is bad. This is bad."

Ashoka sighed as he massaged his own shoulder to reduce soreness, watching Chandra paced back and forth in front of him. It was still throbbing his morning. He knew the twins were strong but he wasn't expecting them to be this strong.

"What are we going to do?" Chandra mumbled, his voice still sounded afraid, no doubt the memories of him serving at the Octavinelle Prefect as one of the anemones resurfaced. "He stole the prefect's carpet and got protection from Octavinelle."

"This sucks," Ashoka said, standing up from the mirror entrance stairs. Walking toward Chandra, he put both hands on his shoulders, stopping him mid-pace. "Listen. We can fix this hopefully."

"How?" Chandra asked again, one hand reached up to hold Ashoka's. "Prefect Kalim will be furious if he knows this. Who knows what will he give out as a punishment."

"If he finds out." Ashoke gave him a little shake on the shoulder. "We need to tell Vice Prefect Jamil before the prefect finds out. He'll find a way."

Chandra looked down to the ground, biting his lip. He took a deep breath once before sighing through his nose. "Yeah. You're right." He gave out a small nod. "Senior Jamil always know the solution." He looked up to his senior, giving a small smile. "He's the best."

Ashoka couldn't help but smile as well despite their dire situations. "I know, right?" He gave Chandra a small ruffle on the head, earning a small giggle from him. "Come on, before the prefect-"

"Good morning, gentleman."

Chandra and Ashoka let out a scream as the first-year leaped to the second-year's arm in terror. The source of their problem had arrived, followed by the double troubles who just past the rippling mirror, one carrying the rolled-up carpet and a thin box, while the other had the gray cat under his arm.

The Octavinelle Prefect gave his typical businessman-like smile (the same smile that tricked Chandra into signing that final exam notes contract). "Forgive us. We didn't mean to startle you." He gave a little bow with his hand on his chest. "We also want to formally apologize for last night." He pressed his fingers to his glasses as he let out a regretful sigh. "I assume that you were bullying a helpless kitty, but after hearing the full story, I assure you that I'm on your side." Smiling again with both hands on his cane, he continued, "I take full responsibility for returning him to where he belongs and return the magic carpet."

Ashoka and Chandra exchanged a glance. _Is this... Is this really happening?_ Still confused and wary, but don't want to be a weight for Ashoka, Chandra slid down from Ashoka's arms, but still afraid. Ashoka pushed him back, hiding him behind his back as he stared at the Octainelle Prefect.

"Uh..." he started. Looking at the cat and the carpet behind him. _They looked fine from afar. Have they really come in peace?_ "Thank you... I guess?"

"Chandra. Ashoka." Turning their head toward the voice, they saw Jamil walked up toward them. "It's almost time for morning training. Kalim will get mad again if you're late-" He froze, eyes widened in shock.

"Greetings, Jamil." Azul gave him a little wave. "How do you do?"

"Azul. And the Leech Brothers." Jamil crossed his arms in front of his chest either from annoyance or suspiciousness. "What are you doing here?

"It is unfavorable for us to be returning to our hometown during winter," Jade spoke up.

"We spend our holidays at the dorm every year," Floyd added.

That, of course, wasn't enough for Jamil who raised a questioning eyebrow at them "Uh-hu..."

"By the way, where is Kalim?" Azul turned around and grabbed the carpet from Floyd's arm. "We have come here to return the magic carpet."

"Ah. I'll take it to him." Jamil stepped forward to grab the carpet but Azul stepped away.

"Oh, but don't bother!" he said, fingers trailing the pattern woven into it. "This magic carpet is an exceptional piece of treasure, as you know. It will be very troublesome for us if we get blamed for tarnishing it, so I would like to hand it to him and explain our situation in person."

Jamil's eye twitched. "Kalim's not the type to be bothered by that, so I'll go and-"

He tried to grab it again, but Azul stepped away once more. "There's no need to worry," he said. "I will not charge anything for returning something that is lost."

"We would also like to apologize for getting in the way of the Scarabia students' work last night," Jade said, looking at Ashoka and Chandra in particular who were still lost from all of this.

"We brought some seafood pizza as a gift, too~" Floyd said, raising the box and opening the lid, revealing a thin flatbread-like pizza with shrimp, scallops, and crabs that would make any mouth water.

"In any case, I would like to hand it to him directly," Azul said again before glancing back at the cat in Jade's arm. "Grim, can you kindly take us to the lounge?"

Grim wiggled free from Jade's grasp. He glared at Azul as if saying 'don't order me around' but still muttered, "Cih. Whatever." He flew in front with Azul following behind him along with Jade and Floyd who gave the pizza box to Ashoka on his way, leaving poor Jamil and his failed attempt to stop them.

"I said that he's not in the moo- Don't walk by me! Azul!"

* * *

"Jonah!"

There wasn't a need for Grim to spell out the name. Azul knew what he was going to face, but he didn't realize that he would have to face it so soon. Even before he could enter the Scarabia lounge, he could hear the familiar laugh. _The laugh that never failed to make him smile or laugh along._ Kalim was sitting among the pillows along with a student who had his back facing him, but it wasn't that hard to guess who was the other one. Both of them had books in their hands, discussing and joking around. He didn't know when his steps slowed down or how his fingers trembled. _Wait. Was he stopping? Why is his heart beating so hard? Was he afraid? Why should he? What's wrong with him?_

Azul watched Grim threw himself into Jonah's arm, startling the boy. "Whoa! Grim! You're back."

"Of course, I'm back." Grim lift his head from Jonah's chest, looking up to the hood-covered face. "I told you I won't leave without you!"

"You did." Jonah chuckled, rubbing his hand on top of Grim's head, earing a purr from the cat. "Good boy."

The footsteps behind him also stopped, except Jamil's who stared at him confusedly before stepping in, kneeling down next to Kalim to whisper something to him, possibly about their arrival. _Wait. Why is he still standing here? Kalim is right there. You're just a few feet away! All you need to do is to return the carpet. Move!_

Kalim looked up at him. "Eh, Azul?"

Azul didn't know why he was so startled. He felt a hand on a shoulder as Jade lowered his head next to his. "Are you going to be okay?" he whispered.

Azul found himself gulping but nodded nonetheless. He cleared his throat and fixed his fedora before stepping into the lounge with his usual bravado. "Good morning, how are you faring today, Kalim?" He let out a sigh, looking around the beautifully-decorated lounge. "Scarabia is as wonderful as I remember it! It is snowing outside, but it seems as if it is still summer here." He looked at the prefect again, trying his best not to glance at the hooded guest and his scowling cat just a few steps beside Kalim. "This seems like a wonderful location to build a resort in, don't you agree?"

Kalim glanced around, smiling confusedly. "Oh? I don't get it." But then he grinned. "But thanks for the compliment!"

Azul nodded. "I have caught your magic carpet and so I am here to return it." He knelt down and gave the rolled carpet to Kalim.

"Eh? That guy escaped on its own again?" Kalim took the carpet, hugging it close to his chest. "Sorry for the trouble."

"It's not a problem," he said casually. "By the way, I did not expect Scarabia to spend the holidays at the dorm."

"Yeah." Kalim nodded. "You guys aren't going home, too?"

"That is right!" Azul laughed. "What a funny coincidence. I see..." He hummed, rubbing his chin before his eyes lit up and snapped his fingers. "I know! How about we have a joint training camp?"

A "wha-!?" came from Jamil's mouth and an "eh?" from Kalim. Grim stared at him with a questioning eyebrow. The other boy meanwhile, Azul couldn't get the right expression for his hood was pulled far down his face. Azul pushed his glasses up his nose as he continued. "I feel as if we have a lot to learn from the way you operate during the holidays as well."

Kalim's eyes twinkled in excitement. "That sounds awesome!" he said, leaping to his feet, face just a few inches from Azul and grinning widely. "You guys are welcome to stay here too!"

Jamil also stood up, pulling Kalim back. "Kalim, I'm against it."

"Eh? Why?"

Jamil gave Azul a quick glance before pulling Kalim further back. "We're training exactly because we need to catch up to the other dorms," Jamil said, "We can't just invite our enemies and give out all of our strategies."

Jonah tiled his head. "Eh? Then how come I'm here?"

Jamil turned to him, giving out a deadpan stare. "Ramshackle is not an official dorm. You being here doesn't count."

Jonah let out a fake gasp. "Well, I'm hurt Senior Jamil."

Azul cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "It's okay, Jamil. As rivals, I understand what you are trying to say." He pulled his fedora down. "Well, please excuse us for now, Kalim, Jamil. I wish you luck with your training." He turned around, seemed like he was about to leave, but with a quick glance at Jade and Floyd, he sighed loudly. "I guess it's back to the harsh winter alone once more..."

Jade walked beside him, sulking. "After we worked so hard trying to catch the magic carpet, too..."

"And Mostro Lounge is a complete mess..." Floyd whimpered, sounding like he was about to cry.

Together, they let out the most dramatic sighed. "How sad~"

Grim blinked several times, taken out from the situations. "That's the most pathetic acting I've ever seen, yanno." While Jonah snorted.

But of course, someone fell for the trick.

"Wait for a second!" Kalim shouted, running to the Octavinelle Trio, turning Azul around, and grasped his hands. "Don't leave yet! As the heir of Asim, I can't just turn away a guest who went out of their way to visit us."

Azul looked up behind Kalim. He could see Jamil slapped himself on the forehead, sighing. Kalim then gasped. "I have an idea!" He turned to Jamil. "Since Azul is one of the top rank magicians in our school, he might help us to improve in subjects we lack." He turned back to Azul. "Can you do that?"

Azul sighed dreamily. "Ah, Kalim!" Letting go one hand, Azul grasped his chest, as if he just got shot by a cupid arrow on the chest. "Oh, how kind-hearted and understanding you are!" He grasped Kalim's hand again. "But, of course! I will do whatever I can to help you out as well!"

Jade peeked from behind Azul. "Floyd and I will help out with the cooking and cleaning should there be a need."

Floyd peaked from the other side. "Yup, yup~ This is a piece of crabcake compare to our daily Mostro Lounge shift."

Kalim nodded excitedly at them. "That'll be a big help! It will lessen Jamil's work, too!"

"Don't worry about me- Ah, geez!" Jamil ran a hand down his face. "You're not listening to all..."

Jonah let out a chuckled. "Well, I guess it's time for training, Senior Kalim?"

Kalim turned to him. "Wait a minute" Letting go of Azul's hand, Kalim walked back to Jonah, putting a hand on his shoulder. Azul took a sharp intake of breath. "If you're still feeling sick, you can stay this one out."

"Sick?" Grim flew to his face and reached to squeeze his cheeks. His hood got pulled back, revealing a bit of that familiar reddish-brown hair. "What happened?"

Jonah's lips pulled into a tight smile. "A false alarm." He grabbed the carpet, looking at Kalim and Jamil. "I'll rest after putting the carpet in the treasure vault. Come on, Grim. I'll tell you on the way."

As Jonah turned around, taking his steps out the lounge, it was as if time slowed down and the world turned monochrome with the only color being him and Jonah. It was like a scene out of a movie. A movie that Azul did not want to watch. He looked straight, focusing on the sky beyond the balcony, ignoring the echoing footsteps of the boy who was approaching him. The footstep echoed the loudest when they were side by side, Jonah's hood bounced off his head, ponytail flowing behind him. But Azul didn't dare to move, afraid that if he even tries to reach out, he won't be able to return.

"Azul?"

Azul let out a gasp. Looking down, a hand was holding his trembling one. Eyes followed the arm until it reached its owner, he found Kalim staring back at him worriedly. "You okay?"

Azul gulped. "I'm okay." He tried to pull a smile. "I hope Scarabia is not planning to go easy on us."

Kalim's hand tightened around his, but he still grinned. "We'll give our best shot!"

The footsteps still echoed in his head despite the owner was nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet seven, I miss writing Octavinelle Trio. But, argh, Azul! Me and my drama!


	122. Mustn't Let Them See Me Cry! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How many of you noticed how I never mention anything about Jonah's eye in the last chapter?

Jonah was calm during the walk to the treasure vault, chatting and smiling along the way. Too calm and cheerful for Grim's taste. It just didn't make any sense that he would not panic from seeing Azul.

"There you go," Jonah said as he rolled out the carpet in the treasure vault. The carpet shook itself before tilting its head. Jonah chuckled, patting it. "Now you stay here, okay? We don't want to make Senior Kalim worried again, right?"

The carpet nodded and Jonah stood up from his kneeling position and left the room, joining with Grim who stayed at the entrance. The cat watched the boy closed the door before stepping back. "And done!" he said, wiping his hand on his pants from the imaginary dust.

Grim pressed his lips together, letting out a whine behind his throat. "Jonah?" he called, high pitched voice filled with worry. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Jonah glanced at him. "Yeah." He turned toward him, tilting his head with a red eye filled with confusion. _Wait. Since when he had red eye? His eye was supposed to be black, right? Or maybe green because of his drowning counter curse? Is that why he wasn't panicking because the counter curse protects him?_

"I'm perfectly fine actually," the boy continued.

"Even with Azul and the twins being here?" Grim asked again.

Jonah nodded. "Yeah. If they want to come, then they should." He reached to Grim and pat his head, but Grim didn't purr or rubbed his head against his palm as usual. "What about you? He didn't hurt you, right?"

Grim just shook his head, he didn't dare to spoke anything, too confused with this. Jonah smiled. "Good, that's what matters."

"But what about you? You mentioned something about a false alarm."

The boy sighed. "Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought I caught the culprit of Kalim's mood swings."

A gasp came out from Grim. "You did?!"

"Yes and no..." he chuckled. "I thought I did but I just... Collapse."

"Eh?"

"I think I passed out...? That was what Senior Jamil mentioned." First name basis? Since when? "He said he found me in the hallway. Maybe because of over-exhaustion which..." he shrugged.

"Don't just shrug this out!" Grim squeezed Jonah's cheeks. "You just said you collapsed! You're sick?! The Octavinelle are here as well! Will you be fine?"

But Jonah just stayed calm, reaching for Grim paws and smiling gently. "I will. Trust me."

He wanted to believe this. He really did. Jonah would never lie.

But something just doesn't add up.

* * *

Grim wasn't the only one who was suspicious of the whole situation.

Listening to the conversation, Jade pulled his fedora down to cover his eyes. Azul might be as well, but he was too caught up with his emotions and anxiety. Floyd was with him to anchor him and snapped him back from his thoughts, leaving Jade to investigate.

Everything about Jonah didn't match up. There was just no way he wouldn't get a full-blast panic attack from seeing Azul when he was shaking like a leaf by only hearing the twins' voice. However, he had some suspicious from what Azul told them about Grim's Scarabia situation. If Jonah was correct, and someone was hypnotizing Kalim, then there's a chance that Jonah might get hypnotize too. Which add more problem with potential order to shut up from the culprit.

This will be troublesome. But they need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

But first, he better get back to the defense practice. He had been gone a bit too long for a bathroom excuse.

* * *

Azul concluded that the training was fine. And that was the problem.

The way Grim told his experience wasn't matching with what he told him. Kalim was cheerful, too bright for his taste, with no trace of a tyrannic trait. Could it be that he's lying? But what will he gain from lying to him? The other possibility was that Grim was telling the truth, but the culprit decided to not hypnotize Kalim at this exact moment. Which was the more likely scenario. Because if Grim was lying, that would mean Jonah was also lying. And knowing him, he wouldn't just lie.

_But then again, a self-sacrificing boy like him would probably lie just to make sure the others don't need to worry over him._

_But Grim was also in trouble, along with Kalim and possibly the whole Scarabia, why would he lie?_

Just as Azul thought of every other reason for this abnormality, his steps came to a screeching halt when he reached the final steps of the stairs to the second floor.

The subject of his thoughts suddenly appeared from the other side of the hall, hood up but Azul could see a few strands peeking out, walking in front of him without even acknowledging him. The Octavinelle Prefect could feel his heart hammering behind his ribs. Once again, everything seemed to dim down, leaving the captain with the only one in color. A spotlight shone above him, waiting for his answer. But Azul just froze up. _What is wrong with him? Was he afraid? He can't be. There was nothing to be afraid of... Right?_

A single footstep sounded like the rumbling thunder.

_... Right?_

Azul gasped, "Jo-"

But the boy didn't turn around or maybe even hear him.

_Wait._

_Hey._

_Why weren't you stopping?_

_Hey, Captain..._

_Don't go..._

_Don't leave me here again._

His finger twitched and suddenly his whole body was no longer in suspended animation. He made a mad dash, running with his hand stretched out. He needs to catch him. He can't lose him again. His fingers brushed the fabric of his hood...

And he pulled.

"Ah!" The captain turned around, with a twinkle of red and green in the eye, Jonah finally saw Azul face to face.

For a moment, they just stare at each other. Azul was breathing hard as if he just ran a marathon. His trembling hand was still holding Jonah's hood. _He just..._ He just never thought that he could see him again. _When was the last time he sees him? Before overblot? It felt like ages ago…_

Jonah blinked several times as if trying to process what had just occurred. His lips moved, voice barely a whisper, "Az-"

And in an instant, his eye widened and he pushed Azul back, putting a distance between them. Before Azul could spat his protest, a cough was heard. The captain was hunched over, hand on his nose and mouth, but water still trickled down from between his fingers.

_The curse-_

"Jonah!" Azul grabbed him before Jonah's knees finally gave up, sending them kneeling to the ground. The coughing and water-vomiting wouldn't stop. Jonah screwed his eye shut, shaking his head and trying to escape from Azul's grip. The silvernette tightened his grip, bringing Jonah close to his chest, as a magic circle appeared below them. It was like an instinct, Azul began to chant.

" ** _[I reverse the curse, let it be no more]_**! **_[In my universe, drown you shall no more]_**!"

The magic circle underneath them shone brighter than any stars tonight. Vaguely he could hear a sound similar to a key unlocking a lock followed by a rattling chain that fell to the ground. The coughing reduced, leaving the boy in a sobbing mess, trembling.

"Hey..." Azul whispered, never realizing that he was also shaking. The boy in his hold didn't stop sobbing to the point Azul was worried he might choke from his own tears. "Hey. S-Stop crying." _Why won't he stop? The curse is lifted, right? He should be okay. Why are you still crying?_

"Azul!" Azul lifted his head, slightly surprised when he saw Kalim, Jamil, Grim, and his twins running toward them. Jamil grabbed Grim before he could launch at Azul while Kalim slid down to a kneeling position beside him. "What happened?"

"I..." Azul hiccuped. "He drowned. I-I saved him. But he..." He looked down at the boy.

Kalim, while still didn't quite understand, nodded. He reached for Jonah's shoulder gently. "Hey, Jonah. Can you hear me?"

Jonah hiccuped. "Mhmm."

Kalim nodded. "Can you tell me five things you know?"

"W-What?"

"Five things you know. Just random stuff."

Jonah clenched and unclenched his pants. "M-My name is Jonah Argentum."

"Okay. Four more."

"I-I have amnesia."

"Really? Three left."

"I have weird dreams and visions."

Kalim looked up at Azul with questioning eyes. Azul just shook his head. Kalim looked back at Jonah. "Two."

"Grim's favorite food is tuna sashimi."

"That sounds good. One more."

"I don't like water." It was like a stab on the heart for Azul.

"Now. How about four things you can see?"

Jonah slowly opened his eyes. "Y-You?" His eye darted around. "The curtain. Stars. That vase."

"Three things you can feel."

Jonah's fingers flew everywhere. "My vest? The carpet." He accidentally brushed Azul's hand. "A hand."

"Two things you can hear."

"H-Heartbeat." Azul didn't know if he was talking about Azul's or himself. "Somebody shouting bellow."

"One thing you can smell."

"S-Shawarma?"

Kalim chuckled. "Better remember to brush my teeth then." His hand moved to Jonah's head, caressing his hair. "You feeling better?" Jonah breathed in and out several times, before nodding. "You want to rest for a while?" Kalim asked again and Jonah nodded. Kalim gentle pulled him from Azul's grip (with Azul reluctantly let him go), before helping him get up to his feet. He turned to Jamil. "I'll be taking him to my room. He can sleep there."

Jamil stared at him for a moment before nodding. Kalim gave him a small smile before walking away with Jonah. The vice prefect looked down at Grim. "Let's follow him, 'kay? He'll need you."

Grim looked reluctant, but watching the twins knelt next to Azul, he nodded. Jamil turned around, leaving the Octavinelle Trio in the hall.

Jade reached for Azul's shoulder, his prefect flinching under his touch. "Azul. You can't sit here."

"I..." Azul stared at his hands. "I cursed him." Tears dropped to his palm. _When did he start crying?_ "I... I didn't mean... Why would I..."

Jade rubbed his back as Floyd patted his thigh. The comforting acts were nice and Azul was grateful they were here to anchor him.

And then, he sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jonah getting hypnotized was supposed to be a shock in this chapter, but for twst fan, considering we already have a chapter with Jamil using his power, it was kinda obvious that Jonah got hypnotized.  
> What? Do you think he'll survive? He's not that powerful.
> 
> And this chapter. How many of you remember the curse? Thankfully this will be the last time will be ever seeing the drowning curse. I don't think I can write anymore drowning scenario. You see how sloppy it was in this chapter. I ran out of ideas.


	123. Odd-Eye Investigation! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalim holds a storytime.  
> Jamil continues to be sus.  
> And I found out mancala is called congklak from where I came from

A knocking came to Kalim's door which was open right after that. Jamil entered with a tray of two steaming cups. "I brought your milk," he said.

Kalim smiled at him, taking the two mugs, "Thanks, Jamil." Jamil gave him a small nod before leaving the room because Kalim requested earlier to be alone to lessen Jonah's fear. He offered one to the boy who was sitting in front of him on the bed, a warm blanket draped over his head as he hugged Grim close to his chest like a teddy bear. The cat didn't seem to mind, in fact, he was leaning to his arm with his ears down and soft purr. Jonah looked surprised at the mug but accepted it nonetheless, shifting just a little to maintain his comfortable position for Grim. "Thanks," he said with a brief smile. He sighed through his nose. "Sorry. I didn't mean make a commotion."

"It's alright," Kalim said, shaking his head lightly. "Panic attack is never the most pleasant experience."

"You ever had it?"

Kalim paused. Glancing to the side, he saw Jamil was glancing at him worriedly. "Kinda." He took a sip from his milk, warming his stomach. "Remember when I mentioned that I'm the first son?" Jonah nodded and Kalim nodded back. "Essentially, I'll inherit everything. And that brings problems."

"Like, sabotages?"

"Yeah," Kalim let out a weak chuckle. "And sometimes murder attempts and kidnappings."

"What?!"

"I mean..." Kalim rolled his hand, sheepish smile for not knowing how to explain it well, especially with how Jonah's eye widened so big. He chuckled lightly. "Some of my family members don't take the news of me being the heir so well. I'm pretty sure some of my aunts tried to poison me before and their kids aren't the best younger siblings. But, there's this one particular kidnapping that just..."

Jonah lowered his mug to the bed. His brow furrowed worriedly. "You don't have to tell me."

Kalim shook his head again. "It's okay." He gave Jonah a warm smile. He took a deep breath before letting it out through his lips. "That kidnapping was... Well."

He bit his lips, his index finger tracing the rim of the mug. "They didn't do anything to me. But they did keep me in the dark for a long time. It was scary. After I was rescued, let's just say that I can no longer sleep in the dark. And when I tried, it kept reminding me of that moment." He remembered the days of staying up all night and curled up in his bed. Sometimes he would cry until he would doze out only to feel dizzy the next morning. Other times, when the night was bright, he would just sit underneath the open window with his blanket draped over his shoulders. "I got sick eventually because of lack of sleep. And the nightmare start."

_"KALIM! WAKE UP!"_

Jamil... That was Jamil, right?

 _Something touched his knee, even if it was gentle, it was enough to snap Kalim's head up. He must've looked horrible because Jamil was surprised._ Wait. Was he? He couldn't see. Why is it so dark?

_"I can't-I can't, please," he muttered, fingers clenching and unclenching like a grabby hand, in which Jamil grabbed. “It's dark. Jamil, it's too dark, please..."_

_"Sh, sh..." Jamil cooed, didn't even winch when Kalim was holding his hand too hard. "You're not there. You're awake in your room. This is not a nightmare."_

_Kalim's mouth was open, panting for breath. Cold sweat matted his hair to his face. "It's dark, Jamil. I can't get out. I can't-"_

_"Sh... Sh... You're not there. You're not there." Jamil brushed the bangs from Kalim's sweaty forehead. "Don't think of anything. Just focus on me. Pay attention to my voice. Can you do that?"_

_Kalim swallowed a few more breaths. He nodded._

_"Good. Just keep listening to me. Can you tell me five things you know?"_

_Kalim sucked in a deep breath. "M-My name is Kalim Al-Asim. I-I don't like curry. My favorite drink is coconut milk. I really like Jamil. I-I'm..."_

_Jamil brushed his hair again. "Keep going. One more."_

_Kalin gulped. "I have white hair."_

_"Good. Good. Can you tell me four things you can see?"_

_Kalim's eyes darted everywhere. "Y-You? M-My bed. The door." Her eyes landed on Jamil again. "Y-You."_

_"Okay. I'll let this slide. Can you tell me three things you can feel?"_

_"It's cold." His hand clenched around Jamil's wrist harder. "Y-Your hand is sweaty." His other hand grabbed his nightdress, clenching it to ground him down. "M-My pajamas are soft."_

_"Can you tell me three things you can hear?"_

_"C-Cricket. Owl."_

_"Can you tell me one thing you can smell?"_

_He sniffed. "I'm stinky."_

_"You're doing great, Kalim." Jamil's hand reached behind Kalim's head until it rested on his shoulder. "You're doing great. You're safe."_

_Kalim let go of Jamil's hand, in turn, hugging him close. Jamil's hand ran his hand in his head while the other patting his back. "T-Thank you..." he whispered._

_Jamil hummed. "You're tired?" Kalim nodded against his shoulder. His eyes were already heavy and on the borderline of passing out again._ But he's safe now. He shouldn't be afraid at least for now. He's safe. Jamil is here. It'll be alright.

"Jamil is the one teaching me how about that," Kalim finished with a gentle, loving smile on his face. "It calms me down every time."

Jonah bit his lip. "Are you still afraid now?"

"Sometimes." Kalim shrugged. "I always keep my window open at home. But having a room like this is an open balcony is a blessing."

"Will it ever go away?"

Once again, Kalim shrugged. "Who knows? I learn to compromise. But I took it slowly." He shifted around so now he sat beside Jonah and threw his arm over his shoulders. "So, if you're still uncomfortable with Azul, you can stay in my room."

"Eh? I don't what to bother you."

"It's fine!" he laughed. "I told you that this is basically a sleepover! I have many pillows and this bed is big enough for both of us."

Jonah bit his lip again but in the end, he let out a laugh. "Okay."

Kalim grinned, proud at himself that he could help someone.

* * *

Kalim looked cute when he was still sleeping. He was drooling in a mountain of pillows. Grim was nowhere in sight, maybe going to the bathroom. Jonah sighed and got up from the bed. The sky changed into the color of dawn as the sun rose behind the sand dunes beyond. He stretched his muscle before walking to the door. He actually felt better now considering yesterday's shock.

_But still..._

_Grim had returned. With the Octavinelle Trio._

_When did that happen?_

_What actually happened after the kitchen? He remembered the confrontation, remember a part of the spell, and then..._

_Blank. Just empty. He couldn't recall anything. A memory loss on top of another amnesia? Did he really get hypnotized? Was this memory loss the side-effect of being hypnotized? Or maybe his senses died down? What did he do? What did he say?_

The door suddenly opened and the snake entered. He raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you up and early?"

"And you?"

Jamil rolled his eyes. "Just doing my job." He walked toward Jonah who stood his ground, even knowing what Jamil could do and whatever happened to him after. Jamil stopped next to him. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing." Jonah shook his head. "He told me about his past PTSD, which you helped in recovery." He glanced to the side, his brows were furrowed in a somewhat mellow look. "You mean so much to him, and you're still trying to do this?"

Jamil's fingers curled into a trembling fist. "If it guarantees my freedom, what else I can do?" He glanced at Jonah.

"I don't need to tell you to not mention anything between us to anyone." Jonah looked down at Jamil's hand. A spark appeared. His eye widened slightly. He could do magic without his pen? "I can make Kalim to the cruelest prefect in all of NRC history with one chant of my spell, so I hope you can keep your pretty pirate mouth shut."

Jonah glared at him to which Jamil glared back, challenging each other who will dominate the game. Jonah stepped back. "Your lips are sealed. You have my words."

Jamil flicked his wrist, dismissing his spark. "Good."

Jamil walked toward Kalim about to wake the perfect. While Jonah walked out, closing the door behind him. He didn't know if Jamil would hypnotize Kalim again, but with the Octavinelle Trio here, it would be risky to do that again. Maybe Grim had an idea when he recruited those three.

_Wait. Where is Grim anyway?_

* * *

Grim must've in a quest for revenge because the first thing in the morning he did was slamming the Octavinelle's guest room door, screaming, "YOU!"

The twins act quickly. Jade pushed his brother and Azul back before waved his magical pen, sending a wave toward Grim. The cat didn't fear him or the water. He kept trying to run toward him in an almost feral way.

"Grim! Stop!" Jade shouted.

"No!" Grim screeched. "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you into pieces!"

Grim ran to the side, but Floyd shot his lightning magic at him, but Grim dashed away.

"Grim! You need to listen to me!" Jade shouted again. "There's something wrong here!"

"Yeah. The wrong thing is actually inviting you guys here!" Grim jumped at Azul, who raised his cane, but Floyd punched the cat to the ground and held him there with his foot.

Jade stomped his foot next to the still-growling Grim's head. "Just calm down for a second and listen to us! If you don't, you won't be able to save him!"

It didn't take a genius to guess who Jade was referring to. All of them were there because of one person. Grim stopped struggling but he didn't stop glaring at him. Jade sighed. He looked up to the other two. Azul was still guarded while Floyd was even moody than when he woke up. But Jade knew they were listening. He looked back down at Grim, focusing on the cat since it was clear he didn't enjoy this at all.

But Jade still spoke, "Whatever happening for both Jonah and Kalim was happening entirely from something else. We might not be able to see Kalim in his unstable phase, but it didn't make sense if Jonah would be fine in our first arrival when we had seen him froze from just hearing us. You noticed this too right?"

Grim opened his mouth but only gasp. It seemed that he had also noticed it.

"You're right," Floyd said, looking up at his brother. "There's no way Baby Seal didn't immediately breakdown, especially with Azul being here as well."

Jade nodded. "Indeed. And about Kalim..." He looked back down at the cat. "Is there any similar characteristic between Kalim and Jonah?"

"Hah?"

"I simply cannot fathom Kalim-san being as moody as Floyd, after all..."

Grim pressed his mouth tight as if he was racking his brain for a clue. Jade patted Floyd's thigh in a silent order to pull his leg up. Floyd looked at him with a questioning look, but Jade just nodded. Floyd pouted but still raised his leg. Grim immediately flew up, nearly pressing his back to the ceiling. Jade let him, waiting for his answer.

Grim tail flicked and a thought popped up. "Jonah said that Kalim might be hypnotized."

Azul frowned at this. He turned to Jade. "Are you saying Jonah might have been hypnotized as well?"

Grim squeaked in surprise and Jade nodded sadly. "That's a possibility."

Grim's tail flicked again. "Wait. I think I know the thing." He flew lower but still maintained his distance between them. "The eye." He pointed his right eye. "Jonah's eye was red. During the day, his eye is supposed to be green because of the counter-curse, but it's red yesterday."

"But Sea Otter has red eyes as well," Floyd pointed out.

"No. The eyes..." Grim snapped his fingers rapidly, trying to find the correct word to describe. "Sort of... Glow? Like, you look at it and suddenly you feel someone stab you in your mind."

"Putting aside the strange analogy," Jade said to which Grim pouted. He turned to Azul. "What should we do now, Azul?"

Azul gripped his cane hard, didn't take this possibility well. It didn't come as a surprise but it was still upsetting that Jonah somehow got hypnotized as well. That must be the reason why he was fine in the lounge yesterday. Someone must've told him to act as nothing had happened. _Dammit. Could this be prevented? Because how dare they harm the captain._

_But then again, he once invades Jonah's mind. Who did the worst here?_

"Azul?"

Azul snapped back from his thought. "Right. We..." He cleared his throat. "For now we should become familiar to Kalim since we probably won't get anything from Jonah." He looked up to Jade. "Jade, can you 'talk' to him for a bit?"

Jade nodded. "Understood."

Azul nodded back before turning to Floyd. "Floyd, you and I will distract Jamil until Jade can get the information we need."

"Okay~" Floyd said, folding his arms behind his head.

Azul turned to the cat who was still pissed off at him. "Grim..." He sighed. "Do whatever you want."

Grim crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm keeping an eye on you. I'm not letting you hurt him again."

Azul rolled his eyes. "Duly noted."

Unknown to them, someone was listening. A certain captain hid behind the wall next to the opened door. It was a lucky guess really that Grim might return to their room, which was occupied by the Octavinelle Trio now, and curiosity got the better of him, leading him to eavesdrop. Jonah reached for his chest, gripping the fabric in the hope to stop his racing heart. _Calm down. They can do this. They'll figure this out quickly. He trusts them._

_He needs to trust him..._

Jonah sighed before walking away. The anxiety hadn't gone away but a bit was lifted.

_But there was one thing he needed to do later._

* * *

Training went well once again. No abnormality from Kalim. Jonah was nowhere in sight, but Kalim said he volunteered in the cooking. But that wasn't the main point. They were doing their plan now. Jade had taken Kalim to the treasure vault (he had shown it to the Octavinelle Trio yesterday and Azul nearly had a seizure from the amount of gold that probably would last for the next seven generations) to pull him away from Jamil, while Azul and Floyd (and Grim as well begrudgingly) distracted Jamil. They had asked Jamil to play a bit of mancala, a traditional board game from the Land of Hot Sands. With the assumption that Kalim had gone to bed, Jamil accepted their offer.

"I did it~ I win again!" Floyd cheered, fists pumped into the air. "That’s three in a row~!"

Jamil smiled. "You’re very formidable whenever you concentrate, huh, Floyd."

Azul hummed. "That makes three wins for Floyd and two for you, correct?"

"Yeah." Jamil picked up the golden seeds before rearranging them into the holes once again, seven seeds each. "I must be getting rusty since it’s been a while. Kalim used to make me play long hours until he won. I guess it’s a force of habit."

Azul picked up the way Jamil smile. It was slightly tight. Not to mention the way the game played out. From the two wins, Jamil had been calculative in choosing which holes with the correct amount of seed or taking any seed from his hole-base, making his turn goes longer and leaving Floyd with very little seed. However, in the round where Floyd won, Jamil was... Somehow sloppier. He chose the hole with the least amount of seed, ending his turn faster, basically the opposite like when he was winning. Like he purposely lost.

Azul cleared his throat. "I see. You were raised together with Kalim-san, were you not?"

Jamil glanced at him. "You know what's like, don't you?" He glanced at Floyd once before turning back to Azul. "Since the three of you are childhood friends."

Floyd hummed, rocking on his seat. "Seem like it..."

Grim, who sat on the opposite of Azul next to Jamil, raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't sound so sure."

Floyd shrugged. "I think we've in the same class since elementary school, but I only started becoming fully aware of Azul when we entered middle school. So, we don't really have any childhood friend-ish memories."

Grim's jaw dropped. "The heck?"

Azul pushed his glasses up. "I was a very quiet student and I preferred not to stand out too much."

Jamil raised an eyebrow at him. "And now you're their prefect? Quite a relationship you have."

"You think so?" Floyd grinned. "I'm just doing it 'cause Azul's pretty interesting."

Jamil and Grim stared at him with questioning looks. Azul sighed.

"For us, this is just a game. Jade and Floyd would follow me but don't necessarily submit." Azul picked up of of the golden seeds and rolled them between his index finger and thumb. "Like a game, it's only fun when it was interesting. If I ever, at one point in our relationship, I become boring..." He tossed the seed to the air before catching it. "Then it's game over."

"So, basically you three are equal," Jamil commented.

Floyd shrugged again. "We're together with him because he's interesting, but once he starts being boring, it's bye-bye Azul~"

It hurt really. Listening to how casually Floyd talking that way. But it was understandable. Everything is just business to them. Considering this is the closest thing Azul had to a friendship, he has to admit that it is pretty sad.

"The vice prefect isn’t the prefect's retainer, you know?" Floyd continued. "That's perfectly normal."

"Normal, huh..."

There was a hint of sarcastic tone at the end of Jamil's comment. His speech sounded normal, but there was a trace of toxic there. "I've been raised as a retainer to serve his family, so I really can't understand." His brow furrowed even if it was just a little. "A master is a master and a servant will be a servant. Most probably for as long as we're alive."

A loyal servant. But there was a hint of annoyance. Interesting.

"Ah-hem."

Everyone turned to the voice and Azul's eyes were about to pop out of their socket when he saw the captain standing there by the entrance.

"Jonah?" Jamil greeted confusedly.

Jonah bit inside his cheek before giving Jamil a small wave. "Excuse me, Senior Jamil." He glanced at Azul once, which Azul was sure he was flinching from that, before looking back at Jamil. "Can I borrow Senior Ashengrotto for a while?"

Jamil's brow furrowed as if looking for a trace of Jonah lying. But the captain kept a neutral face which won Jamil over. "I don’t mind." He turned to Azul. "You?"

Azul glanced at Jamil before looking up at Jonah. The captain tilted his head to the side, waiting for his answer. He felt Floyd bumped his shoulder, snapping him back before he could think about it deeper. He gave a quick nod. "Alright."

As he stood up, Grim also flew up from his seat. "I’ll go too."

Jonah raised his hand. "There’s no need Grim. We’ll be fine."

"But..."

"It’s alright." Jonah smiled reassuringly at him. "I’ll be fine." He glanced back at Azul. The Octavinelle Prefect took a deep breath and let it out through his lips. He walked toward Jonah, stopping a few inches from him.

"Walk with me," he said, turning around, glancing to Azul once as a silent order to follow him. "There’s something I need to talk about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so hard to write!  
> I am very sorry for not updating for a while. I've been busy and this still continues, so I don't know when I will update again.  
> But yeah, things happen and will be having a heart-to-heart talk between the mermaid and pirate. So, I hope you're looking forward to that.


	124. No Matter How Your Heart is Grieving! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Jade interrogates Kalim casually, Azul and Jonah finally have their heart-to-heart talk.

“I'm really sorry to interrupt your night routine, Kalim,” Jade said in the most apologetic tone he could measure. “I should've waited until tomorrow. How selfish I am.”

Kalim turned toward him, grinning. “Don't worry about it! I can stay late for a bit longer.”

Jade let out a sigh of relief. “Ah~ Thank you very much. I’m so curious about the tapestry and carpets deep inside the room.”

“Oh! I have tons of those in here.” Kalim grinned again and opened the door to the treasure vault. Flicking the light switch, the room was once again lit up, jewels and gold sparkling and luring them in.

“I think I've seen a carpet that would look great for your dorm,” Kalim said as he led Jade to the pile where most beautifully woven rugs were rolled up. “If only I can find it... Hold up.”

Jade stayed outside of the area while Kalim dove in, pushing and scanning through the rug collection. “Where is it?” he mumbled, looking like he was a kid who was missing his favorite toy. “Maybe Jamil would know…”

Jade’s eyes widened slightly. _This is his keyword._ “Ah… Jamil is such a capable aide, isn't he?”

“Yeah! He's really amazing!” Kalim laughed. “He teaches me magic and how to study way better than my tutors. He's a great dancer too, but he's too shy to do it in front of a lot of people.”

“You speak about him in such high regards,” Jade said. “Makes me wonder why he never mentions anything to you.”

Kalim paused. He turned to Jade, a confused look on his face. “Huh?”

Jade took this opportunity to step forward. “It is a long vacation and yet the students in the dorm are being made to train severely every day...” He frowned in a concerted manner. “It is something I simply cannot think you will do.”

Kalim's lips pressed into a thin line, brow furrowed in frustration. “That's It's because...” he mumbled, tone going up and down as if trying to taste what was the most correct answer. “We need more training... I think?”

Jade tilted his head to the side. “You don't sound so sure.”

“Yeah... I just...” he said, letting out a defeated sigh. He sat down on one of the rolled carpets, pulling his knees close to his chest. Jade sat beside him, eyes never left the confused prefect. “I'm not so sure myself. I think I've been spacing out. Jamil said that it’s because I’m just getting tired because of my duties and all that... I've had a bad habit of falling asleep when I’m facing something difficult... My tutors and Jamil lecture me a lot when that happens...”

“And what difficult things do you mean, to be exact?”

“Things like the Magishift Tournament, the exams, and Scarabia being in the low ranking. There's so much to think about that I just drifted off.” He let out a weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I'm so hopeless, huh...”

“What about this training camp? Isn't this your idea?”

“Yeah, it was... I think...”

Another indecisive response. Jade didn’t doubt that Kalim didn’t know the true source of the problem, but this is going nowhere. Kalim left him with no other choice. It may be risky, but it worth trying.

“Ow!” Jade hissed, a hand reached covered his eyes.

Kalim turned to him, a bit startled. “What happened?

“I am sorry, it seems like something got in my eye,” Jade said. He slowly turned to Kalim with still covered eyes.

“Wait. I can blow the dust away.” Kalim reached for Jade's face, one hand holding his chin. “Which eye?”

“My left eye,” Jade said. Kalim nodded. His other hand reached for Jade’s hand and slowly peeled it off from the eyes. The right eye first with Jade slowly opening it, then Kalim kept pulling until the left eye was uncovered even if it was still closed.

“Does it hurt if you open it?” Kalim asked.

“A little bit,” Jade said. “But I can handle.”

Kalim nodded again. “Okay then.” Kalim used both of his thumbs to slowly opened Jade's left eye, completely fixated by it.

Thus the chanting began.

“ ** _[There is no need to be afraid; I want to be of help to you]_**.” It was too late for Kalim if he ever wanted to pull back for a magic circle had appeared in Jade’s eye. “ ** _[Shock the Heart]_**.”

“Eh?” Kalim’s hands dropped to his side as magic circles appeared in his eyes.

“You must swear to answer the truth and only the truth to my questions,” Jade said, a hand reached to Kalim’s chin, lifting his head so that they are seeing eyes to eyes. “Do you know any student who uses hypnotic magic?”

* * *

Azul didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all. This walk didn’t help to soothe the anxiety bubbling in his chest. Jonah didn’t say anything during the walk which made it even worse because Azul didn’t know what was expected to come out from his mouth. The captain was walking ahead of him. Normally Azul wouldn’t like it, but for once he felt wrong if he even walks beside him. Just a strange, disturbing feeling that Azul doesn’t like.

“So.” When Jonah did finally spoke up, Azul nearly stumbled on his track. “Grim managed to get a hold of you.”

He quickly recovered though. “He came crashing down the roof.”

“You have a hole now?”

“We can fix it.”

“How much for the repair?”

“It's free.”

“Does he have to sign a contract?”

Azul stopped his track. Jonah also stopped a few feet ahead of him. He turned around, face neutral. For some reason, it pissed off Azul. “Can you just get straight to the point? If you want to say something, just say it.”

“What?” Jonah tilted his head to the side. “You don't enjoy my company?”

“No. I don't like it when we have to spin around seventy times before we even reach the conclusion.”

“That's strange. Doesn't a salesman always do that to convince the buyer?”

“We're not making a deal right now.”

“Are we even sure? We can change this into a bargain.” There was no teasing tone in Jonah’s words. It sounded like he was serious. _But really? Is this really a good time for this deal making talk?_ “Isn't this an opportunity? I'm in a tight spot after all. I would do anything to get out of this problem.”

Azul crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I'm not making a deal with you.”

Jonah sighed. “That's a shame. I would like to.”

Azul’s fingers around upper arm clenched tighter. “Even after everything that had happened?”

Jonah shrugged. “Why not?”

Azul sighed through his nose in an almost annoyed fashion. “Sometimes I just don't understand you.”

“Then why don't you just read my mind?”

This time, Azul did scream, already at his limit. “I can’t read minds!”

“Correction.” Jonah raised a finger like a teacher scolding his student. “You used to be able to read minds.

Azul was on the edge of tearing his hair off. His hands were already on his head, gripping his fedora like he intended to rip it in half here and now. “Captain, please,” he said through his gritted teeth. “If you just want to mock me, then let it all out.”

Jonah was calm through all of this. “Why would you think I would do that?

“Because isn't that what everybody does? Don't they like to make fun of people who are just slightly different from them?” Azul’s voice was becoming louder and louder, but at the same time, it cracked. “Only because they look like an easy punching bag, people decided just straight up ganged upon him.”

“Well, what do you expect them to do?”

“I don't know!” Azul threw his hands to the side. “How should I know?!”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at him. “You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be smart?”

“Only because I have more brain cells than you that doesn't mean I have that bleeding heart of yours!” Azul gritted his teeth, his hand reached of his chest, clutching the fabric tight. “Do you think it's easy to be in my shoes? Every day dreading whether or not I will wake up alone with the twins finally decided that I'm too boring for their taste.” He let out a humorless chuckle. He didn’t even realize his eyes started to tear up. “It was easy, really, to put on a show for all of you. I've been building my charm since I was little and it hadn't cracked.”

Jonah bit his lip. “Until now.”

Azul chuckled again. “Yes.” He covered his face with one hand and tilted his head back. “I admit. I don't know how you do it. How can you, a stupid, magicless child bring me to the breaking point?”

Jonah was silent for a moment, watching the once-proud Octavinelle Prefect now looked like a tired wreck. All the emotional burden had come crashing down and on the edge of crying.

He took a deep breath before letting it out. “It's simple really.” He slowly stepped forward toward him. Azul didn’t make a move but he did flinch when he heard the footsteps. When Jonah stopped in front of him, he ever so gently reached for Azul’s hand, pulling it away from his face. He could see the tiredness in those blue eyes. All of the stress, anxiety, and plain loneliness. His hand traveled up Azul's to his shoulder and neck until it rested on his cheek. Using his thumb, he wiped the tear that came dripping down.

“Do you know what I see?” he said with a gentle smile on his face. “I don't see a dumb, helpless, little octopus. I see a hardworking young man who wants to prove that he too can do something more.”

Azul could only breathe. _There was just no way he was describing him._ “I just want to get revenge on people who made fun of me,” Azul whispered.

Jonah gave him a small nod. “Perhaps.” But then he turned serious again. “But, listen here, dear Azul Ashengrotto.” He brushed some strands of hair from Azul's in a gentle manner. “You got the makings of greatness in you. I've seen it. I know you can sail through the rough sea. I wish I can see more from you, catching some of the light coming off you.”

The smile never left his face and Azul just couldn’t believe it. _How could he say all of this, without any hint of mockery?_ “Why are you doing this?” Azul whispered, eyes once again teared up. “Is it because of pity?”

Jonah shook his head. “No. Because I know you are more than this. This is just a hiccup in a way. You can fix this. Everyone deserves a second chance after all.”

“How can you be sure that I won’t repeat the same mistake?”

“Then I’ll give you the third chance. If you still haven’t changed, I’ll give the fourth. Over and over again.”

Azul sighed. “That’s ridiculous.”

Jonah chuckled lightly. “Well, I’m not like other villains after all.”

Azul couldn’t but chuckle as well. “I can't understand your mindset, captain.”

Jonah smiled. “We have time to learn more. So, I'll be waiting for you to unfurl your sail, 'kay?”

_How could this boy never fail to surprise him? How could he, after everything Azul had done to him, can still say those kind words?_

“Okay.” Azul sniffed, his lips slowly pulled the first smile of the night from him. “And... I'm...” He glanced to the side, embarrassment filled his chest. “I'm sorry... For everything.”

Jonah just smiled and caressed his cheek, bringing Azul’s attention to him again. “Me too,” he whispered back, gently pulling him closer so that their foreheads could touch each other.

Once again, like in a movie, it felt like they were being transported into another world. Azul could no longer see the Scarabia Dorm’s hallway, but underwater. It felt like they had been there before. Inside a grotto with the only source of light was coming from the hole in the ceiling above. It felt so familiar. Like a dream from long ago. Jonah was smiling too at that time and their foreheads touched as well.

Tears streamed down heavily from Azul’s eyes. _He couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t want this uncomfortable feeling in him. Listening to Jonah soothed him. He wanted to listen to him more. He wanted to be with him. He didn’t want to feel lonely or terrified of being abandoned._ Without any warning, Azul pulled Jonah into a tight hug. His fedora fell off his head, but he didn’t care. The captain let out a squeak of a surprise but soon relaxed in his arm. “Please...” Azul sobbed. “I don't... I don't want to lose you too... I can't... I don't think I can... I don't want to be alone... Please... Don't leave me...”

He felt Jonah ran his hand down his hair, nuzzling into the side of his neck. “I'll be there,” he whispered. “My door is always open to welcome you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we finally reach the Therapy Arc! Well, this chapter was a ride.  
> There's this one particular sentence in this chapter that I really like and I just can't help smiling. I actually nearly teared up when writing this. Damn I'm baby


	125. Reason for Dependency! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the investigation.

“Eh? Azul? Jonah?”

After the emotional moments, Jonah and Azul were silent. Unlike the awkward or downright murderous silence they had usually, it was a peaceful silence. Jonah sat on the stone railing of the open hallway with Azul standing and leaning next to him, as the gentle night breeze blew between them. Looking up, they saw Kalim and Jade walking toward them.

“Hey there, Senior Kalim,” Jonah greeted, waving his hand.

Kalim looked between them, noticing the lack of tension between them. “Oh. You two make up already.”

Azul and Jonah exchanged a glance, their lips pulled a small smile. “You can say that,” Azul said, pushing his glasses up.

Jade looked between them. It was one thing if Jonah was the one saying that, but when it was Azul, Jade had a small certainty that they might have at least on an equal term again. Plus the fact, Azul’s smile seemed sincere was really telling. “I'm happy for you,” he said, feeling a small weight being lifted from his shoulders.

“What the- Kalim?” They turned to the other hallway where Jamil strode toward the prefect, with Floyd and Grim following behind him. “I thought you're asleep already.” He stopped a few inches in front of him. “You can't just wander alone at night. What if you get kidnapped again?”

Kalim let out a sheepish chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. “Don't worry. I'll be fine as long we're in the dorm, right? Besides, I have Jade with me.”

“Jade?” Jamil glanced at the other eel twin who gave him a smile that could send a shiver down your spine.

“Correct. I was with him all the time.”

Jamil glared at him. “What did you do to him?”

Jade had his fingers on his chin. “What do you mean? We were just having a fun little chitchat, weren’t we, Kalim?”

Kalim nodded, glancing at Jade for a second. “Yup.” He turned to Jamil again. “By the way, Jamil. Do you know where the blue and silver carpet is? I can't find it in the vault-”

Jamil suddenly grabbed his wrist. “Let's go back, Kalim.”

“Eh? Why now all of a sudden?”

“No questions. Come on, let's go.” Jamil pulled Kalim away in an almost forceful manner.

“Wha–!? I’m going!” Kalim stumbled in his steps but quickly recovered. He quickly waved at Jade. “Sorry, Jade. I’ll show the carpet to you next time!”

“Yes. Until next time.”Jade waved back as they watched Kalim and Jamil disappeared at the corner. He turned to the rest of the gang, sending a quick nod at Azul who nodded back. He stepped forward, glancing at each person in the circle.

He pushed his glasses up. “Well, then. Let's return to our room for further discussion.”

* * *

All of them gathered back to the Ramshackle Duo’s room. Since Jonah didn’t sleep here, the Octavinelle Trio used. There were two rolled-up mattresses in the corner of the room, along with two pillows on top of it. But the resident of the room didn’t feel tired. At least, not until they could conclude their brief investigation.

Azul locked the door behind him. Looking around the room, Jonah was sitting on the bed with Grim on his lap. Jade was standing in front of the window, the light shining down at him like a spotlight. On the other side of the room, Floyd stood with his back leaning against the wall with hands folded behind his head.

Azul stepped forward, pushing his glasses that glint with a serious light. “So, what do you learn from your talk with Kalim?”

Jade nodded. “A few things. But before this, I would like to ask a few questions with Mister Argentum here.” He turned to Jonah who straighten up his back. Grim became tense, growling a bit as a warning. Jade stayed in his place but continued. “When we arrived here for the first time, do you remember what we're talking about?”

Jonah looked at the Octavinelle Trio one by one. “Uh...” He ducked his head. “Um... Actually, I only realized that you guys are here when...” He stole a glance at Azul, but it was enough for implication. “You know...”

Jade hummed, fingers on his chin. “What about before it? What about your talk with Grim? Do you remember what you said?”

Grim squinted at him. “How do you know? Were you eavesdropping on us?”

Jonah put a hand on top of Grim's head, patting him. Though he was frowning. “I... I don't think I can.”

Grim turned to him, now it was his turn who looked confused. “What do you mean you can't? You said you collapsed when you thought you figure out who caused Kalim's mood swing.”

Jonah blinked slowly at him. “I... Did?”

“Hmm. Just as I suspected.” Everyone’s focus returned to Jade. “Our suspicions were confirmed: both of you got hypnotized.” Jonah’s eye widened at this. “Both of you suffered the same symptom of short-term memories lost during the time you were hypnotized. For Jonah, it was around the time of Grim's escape and that panic attack in the hallway. For Kalim, this might be his usual habit of falling asleep because of stress, but it wouldn't make much sense if Jonah also drifts off since he never has any history of that.”

He glanced at Jonah again, almost challenging him. “Since you have your own suspicion of who might be doing this, perhaps you can tell us who is it.”

Jonah bit his lip, glaring at him. But he glanced to the side, head down, and sighed. “Sorry. I can't.”

Azul frowned. “Jonah-”

“I'm helping you too,” the captain quickly said. “There's a reason why the three of you haven't seen Kalim's in his tyrant mode. I sort of made a promise to keep my mouth shut for this.”

Azul took a deep breath before letting out from his nose. He knew not to push further. Not yet at least. They might be on better terms, but their ground was still fragile. “Alright then.” He turned to Jade. “What about Kalim? Did he mention anything?”

Jade stole a glance at Jonah but decided to set his opinion aside, but focusing on Azul’s question. “Forgive me. But it seemed I was not able to extract that information.”

“You couldn’t figure it out even with your _unique magic_?” Floyd asked.

Grim looked up to Jonah, paws covering his mouth as he whispered. “What's his _unique magic_ again?”

Jade turned to his twin, sending him a disapproving look. “Floyd... I always tell you to be careful about revealing our unique magic to others, do I not?” Floyd stuck out his tongue at him.

“It's okay to reveal it to them,” Azul said. “I'm sure they can keep a secret.” Jonah nodded at this.

Jade sighed. “Very well, then.” He pulled his fedora down. “My _unique magic_ is called _‘Shock the Heart’_. It is magic that allows someone to tell me only the absolute truth.

“Wha–!?” Grim squeaked. “Does that mean they can’t lie to you!?”

Jade nodded. “This is why I never mention anything about my unique magic. People would become cautious around me. I can only use it against a person once. Once I have used it, I cannot use it on the same person again. Moreover, it is not guaranteed to work on strong magicians or someone as overly cautious as Azul. It will only work perfectly against those who are gullible and those who are doubting their own hearts. It is a _unique magic_ that is quite limited, I’m afraid.”

“It works so much better against cowards and crybabies though~” Floyd grinned.

Jade chuckled almost mischievously. “Indeed.”

“That’s a pretty twisted smile…” Grim whispered back to Jonah who shrugged at him.

“In any case, Kalim is the overly friendly type, so he easily fell for my magic.” Jade paused. He was frowning which usually wasn’t a good thing. “However...”

_“_ **[There is no need to be afraid; I want to be of help to you]** _.” It was too late for Kalim if he ever wanted to pull back for a magic circle had appeared in Jade’s eye. “_ **[Shock the Heart]** _.”_

_“Eh?” Kalim’s hands dropped to his side as magic circles appeared in his eyes._

_“You must swear to answer the truth and only the truth to my questions,” Jade said, a hand reached to Kalim’s chin, lifting his head so that they are seeing eyes to eyes. “Do you know any student who uses hypnotic magic?”_

_“I do,” Kalim answered in a monotone voice._

_“Then, what is his name?”_

_“That’s...” He paused for a second before continuing, “I can’t say.”_

_A small gasp escaped from Jade’s lips. “Eh?”_

_“It’s something I absolutely can’t tell anyone,” Kalim said. “I promised them long ago. That’s why I won’t say it.”_

_“Is that so...?” Jade said. He really didn’t anticipate this. He couldn’t try again for this is once in a lifetime chance. “I understand.”_

_He let go of Kalim’s chin and closed his eyes. The magic circle on Kalim’s eyes disappeared and the white-haired boy gasped like he just broke the surface of the water after diving. “Wha… What was I doing just now...?” he mumbled._

_Jade smiled at him. “There's no need to worry, Kalim. In fact, I should thank you. I have cleared what I was tasked to do.”_

_“R-really?” Kalim sheepishly chuckled obviously confused. “I don’t really get it, but it’s good that you’re feeling better!”_

_Jade nodded at him. “Indeed.”_

“That’s how it went.”

Azul let out a bark. He seriously didn’t whether he should laugh or scream at the outcome. “I'm not even surprised! Kalim’s kindness completely won against your _unique magic_.”

Jade crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked like he was pouting but still wanted to stay professional. “It is very frustrating to admit, but that is what happened.”

“I always thought he’d be loose-lipped, so that’s unexpected~” Floyd giggled. “That promise must’ve meant so much to him, huh?”

“Not only that, that dedication has practically revealed the cause of strife within their dorm.”

Azul's lips curled up into a confident smirk. He tipped his fedora, glasses gleamed with determination and cunningness. Something about his smile made Jade and Floyd smirk back. While Grim was still suspicious of him, but he was willing to trust for just this time. Azul glanced at Jonah who nodded at him, handing the leadership to him.

Azul nodded back and looked at everyone in the room once again. “Well, gentlemen, captain. Shall we catch the one responsible red-handed?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE UPDATE, HECK YEAH!
> 
> I feel like this is a perfect spot to announce this. We are very close to the Scarabia Arc finale!  
> As usual, we'll be having a recap episode, but I haven't decided when. I'll be rather busy next week with my volunteer work and final assignment. Hopefully, once I'm a bit free I can start updating again.  
> In the meantime, if any of you are curious behind the scene of “The Tactician of the Scorching Sands”, asking how long I will drag the potential angst, or just to talk, just submit your messages to my “Good Question” box on Tumblr [@tsukikoayanosuke!](https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	126. Capable Assist! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to piss off Jamil:  
> Step 1: Hijack his plans.  
> Step 2: Profit.

There was a sound of rustling that managed to wake Azul from his light sleep. Slowly, brushing Floyd's hand from his face, he sat up and reached for the glasses that he put on the floor near his head. The twins beside him were still sleeping, Jade on the left and Floyd in the middle. Since Jamil only prepared two extra beds (with the assumption of Azul sleeping on it because Jonah slept in Kalim's room last night), the trio needed to share. On the actual bed, Grim was curled up near the pillow, but the other occupant wasn't there.

Turning to the rustling sound, he saw the boy kneeling at the corner of the room, crouching in front of the open suitcase. Curiosity got the better of him, so he stood up and walked toward the boy. "Jonah?"

Jonah let out a small gasped before turning toward him. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Azul noticed that the suitcase that was opened was Jonah's. There was a glint of metal among the clothes from the prosthetic hand. Realizing that he was still waiting for his answer, Azul shook his head. "No. I can't sleep. You?"

Jonah sighed. "I need to check on something."

He turned around and sat on the floor, revealing the bronze orb that Azul had packed back then.

"What is that anyway?" Azul asked, sitting on the floor in front of Jonah.

The boy shrugged, finger tracing the pattern of the orb. "I don't know. I found it way back when I first arrived at Ramshackle Dorm. Ever since then, it had been showing these weird visions of the Great Seven before everything went to shit. Riddle has the Queen of Hearts, Leona has the King of Beast, you have the benevolent Sea Witch, and this time is the Vizier of the Desert. And for some reason, whatever it was show me, it'll somehow happen in real life." Looked up to Azul with a questioning look. "Do you have an idea what can it be?"

Azul shook his head. "I don't have the slightest idea." After all, he had only seen the orb in action once, back when he could see through Jonah's eye under his contract. There was too little information for Azul to decipher. Looking at the orb again, Azul realized it was blinking rapidly along with the sound of a storm from inside of it. "So, it wants to show you more vision now?"

"Yeah. Can you hold this for me?"

Azul nodded and Jonah handed the orb toward him. He tried to tap the orb, vaguely copying Jonah's action from his memories. But it didn't do anything.

"Here." When Jonah tapped the circular patterns, they sunk.

"It only responds to you," Azul mumbled.

Jonah frowned. "Weird..." He twisted it twice and suddenly green neon light flooded the room. Azul looked at the room changed. Jade, Floyd, and Grim disappeared. In turn, two people appeared, a girl and a man, both were bowing to the ground.

**_"Oh, princess~ There someone I'm dying to introduce you to!"_ **

The girl suddenly rose but appeared to be dangling like a puppet on a string. She wobbled toward a man with the snake staff. The Great Sage of the Sands.

**_"Jafar! Get your hands off her!"_ **

Both boys turned toward the sound where he saw a boy in royal clothes, flying sharp on a carpet toward the sorcerer. But the man just laughed and raised his snake-staff toward the boy. Azul knew that this was all just a vision, but he couldn't help to pull Jonah closer when the sorcerer shot his magic toward the boy, pushing him off the carpet.

**_"His lies were too good to last! Say hello to your precious Prince Ali!"_ **

The clothes of the boy suddenly changed into a simpler, almost raggedy, vest and pants.

**_"Genie!"_ **

The boy screamed, reaching toward the giant blue man who could only watch in horror as the sorcerer threw the boy, along with a small monkey and carpet, into a tower.

**_"The venue was chosen: the end of the earth!"_ **

The sorcerer swung his staff and the tower shot off like a rocket until it was nowhere to be seen.

**_"So long! Ex-prince, Ali!"_ **

As the black clouds rolled and the lighting struck, the sorcerer laughed maniacally, scaring the princess and sultan, while the genie looked away from the smoke left by the tower. Lightning flashed a couple of times and suddenly everything turned to normal.

"Oh shit." Azul, still breathing hard from the shock, looked down, just noticing how Jonah was trembling whose eye never left the orb that was locking itself once again. The boy's voice was small, almost inaudible if it weren't for Azul’s high focus. "We're gonna lose..."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't you see?" Jonah looked up to Azul frantically. "The vizier throws the street Rat to the end of the earth. If he does something similar to that, we won't be able to do anything. If he does something to Kalim-"

"Hey, hey. Hold on." Azul grabbed Jonah's shoulder, shaking him once to gain his attention. "This is not the end of the story."

"What?"

"The street rat will defeat the vizier with his wit and shackled as a genie with his lamp. The vizier will lose."

The trembling lessened under Azul's hands, which was a good thing. The captain relaxed for a bit. "There's..." he whispered in disbelief, "There's another ending?"

Azul's hand slid down so hand he was holding onto Jonah's upper arms. "That's the true ending. The happy ending."

"Happy ending..."

Azul nodded. "All of the Great Seven's tales ends with a happy ending." He gave him a little squeeze. "There's no need the worry. If your assumption is true and whatever happening here is following the footsteps of the Street Rat and the Magic Lamp tale, then we'll win in the end."

Jonah looked down to the orb. "We will win..." His lips pulled up into a sort-of relief smile. "We'll get the happy ending... Is that what you're saying?"

Azul nodded again. "Yes." They should reach the true ending of the tale. _But..._ "It makes me wonder though..." he mumbled out loud.

"About what?"

Azul sighed, his hands slipped from Jonah's arms. "Why didn't you stab me?"

Jonah frowned. He looked offended somehow. "What?"

"Back then when I overblotted. You had a chance to kill me, but you didn't. Why?" _The sea witch should be killed by the prince. But you didn't do that. Why didn't you? Why did you say you're sorry? Were you sorry because you regret your decision? Or were you sorry for not putting him out of his misery?_

"I..." Jonah's fingers drummed the orb on his lap. He bit his lip. "I can't bring myself to kill you."

 _But why? Don't you want the happy ending?_ "I've done horrible things."

"So did I," Jonah reached for Azul's hand and Azul flinched a bit but didn't pull away. "So did everyone else."

"But you said you're more of a villain. You should've not hesitated."

"Why? Can't a villain show mercy too?" Jonah sighed, giving him a small smile. "And if you think that you're also a villain, you won't be keeping this."

He turned to grab something from behind. That something was his detached prosthetic hand. Azul sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling anxious.

"I want to give it back to personally," he found himself saying without a second thought.

"When?"

Azul looked away. "I don't know."

Jonah was silent for a few seconds before he moved. "Here," he said, placing the hand onto Azul's lap.

Azul blinked at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"You said you want to give it back personally." Jonah smiled, bringing his right arm. Azul took a deep breath to calm himself. He took the prosthetic hand and the arm, ever so gentle as if he was afraid that they might break like glass, and connected them with a _*click*_. There was a buzzing sound of the engine inside of it. Jonah pulled back (Azul held back a gulp) to test the hand, curling his fingers and rolling his wrist. A smile grazed his lips as he looked up to Jonah with gentle eyes. "Thank you for keeping it."

He reached back once again to pick up something long. It was the belt from Jonah's pirate costume/dorm uniform, along with the sword. "You even bring my cutlass."

Azul sighed. "Grim suggested you need a weapon to protect yourself."

"Smart raccoon." Despite being in his pajamas, Jonah still wore the belt. Once he was done, he looked up to Azul again. "Don't you see? You're not as bad as a villain might be."

Azul huffed but managed to pull out a smile. "I guess you're right."

Jonah giggled. "Let's try not to get thrown away tomorrow, okay?"

He offered his hand. Azul stared at the hand before looking up to Jonah. He was smiling once again and Azul felt warmth felt his heart.

Slowly, he reached for the hand, squeezing it almost too hand to make sure this wasn't a dream and the captain wasn't accepting him. _But the hand felt so solid, so this is real... Azul never felt this much relief in the past week since he overblotted._

"Okay..."

* * *

Kalim was still asleep even though the sky had turned rather orange when Jade and Azul walked into the room. Jade was balancing a tray of tea set on one hand while Azul had a large bowl of water and towels hung on his arms.

Jade set the tray on the end table before walking up to the sleeping prefect. "Good morning, Kalim," Jade called, shaking Kalim's shoulder. "Rise and shine now."

The prefect stirred from under his blanket, eyes blinking ever so slowly to regain his consciousness. "Hnghh... Jamil?" he yawned, still half asleep when he sat upon his bed and rubbing his eyes. "Good morning..."

Jade let out a chuckle. "No, it’s Jade. Our names do seem similar, do they not?"

Kalim's brow furrowed. "Eh..." He rubbed his eyes again to get off the sleep from them. He looked around, finally noticing the other two people in his room. "EH? What are you guys doing here?"

"We're helping you preparing for the day." Jade reached for the tea tray, quickly pouring some tea and adding a couple of sugar cubes. He walked back to Kalim with a teacup and a saucer. "How about some new moon drop tea to start the day?"

Kalim looked at him confusedly but still accept the cup. "Thank... You...?" Kalim sniffed at the tea. It does smell good... 

"I have prepared a change of clothes and water to wash your face," Azul spoke up, walking toward the bed. "It's nice to be clean and fresh in the morning, don't you think?"

"I guess..." Kalim looked between both of them. "Guys, seriously... What's going on? Where is Jamil?"

"Do not worry." Azul smiled. "We can help you out with simple tasks."

Before Kalim could ask further, there came knocking on the door before it was opened and Jamil walked in. "Kalim, it’s time to-" His steps came to a screeching halt. "Wha–!? Jade and Azul?! What are you two doing here?"

Azul gave him a charming businessman smile as he walked toward him, arms out like he was presenting himself. "Oh, Jamil! Good morning!"

Jamil stepped back but Azul already caught him, slinging his arm around Jamil's shoulders. "Feel free to go back to sleep for a bit if you’d like. We will be taking care of Kalim every morning starting today."

"What?" Came from Kalim and Jamil, though Kalim was pure confusion while Jamil had a hint of irritation.

"Our conversation last night made me realize something," Azul sighed, fingers on his glasses in a dramatic thinking pose. "In all of Scarabia, the one who works the hardest is none other than you, Jamil." Azul patted Jamil's chest in a pitying way. "Ah! You poor unfortunate soul~"

Jamil gritted his teeth and pushed Azul away, glaring at him. "What nonesense are you talking about?"

"Scarabia has graciously welcomed us in, after all," Jade said. "We figured we should do something for you in return. You can call this a 'Jamil Support Club'."

Jamil was even more baffled. "Wh-what?! N-No! I can’t let you do that."

Kalim's eyes widened. "Oh... Oh...! OOOOHHHH! That’s a great idea!" he squealed, eyes twinkling with astonishment, clearly not noticing the way Jamil looked at him with a 'what-the-fuck' stare. "I’ve always been thinking of how to make things easier for Jamil, y’know?"

Jade put a hand on his chest. "Kalim, those feelings as the master are truly beautiful." He glanced briefly at Azul in a playful manner. "I wish that Azul would learn a thing or two from you, honestly."

Azul laughed, but quickly turned a deadpan stare at Jade "You really do like butting into other people’s business, don’t you, Jade?" He cleared his throat before walking toward Jamil once again. "With that said, you can rest easy and leave this to us, Jamil." Before Jamil could protest further, Azul turned him around toward the door that was opened by Jade.

"With that said, you can rest easy and leave this to us, Jamil." Kalim waved at Jamil. "Let's them do this Jamil! This is awesome for you!"

"Have a good, long rest in your room, Jamil~" Azul pushed Jamil out of the room. Jamil quickly turned toward the door again, but Jade just gave him a smile before slamming the double door.

Jamil started at the door for a quite long time, his brain still processing what just happened. _Like, what the fuck? What are those intruders planning this time? And those were just Jade and Azul? Where were Floyd and the Ramshackle brats?_ Jamil took a deep breath and let it out through his nose slowly, calming himself. He turned his heel, walking away from the closed room. _No matter. He could still fix this. Just small fishes trolling him. Just stick to your persona and start breakfast before things get too out of control._

* * *

The Scarabia Kitchen had already burst with life when Jamil arrived there. "What the-!"

Floyd looked up from the plate he was working on, smiling widely. "Ah~ Sea Snake is here~ Good morning!"

Jamil nearly missed it, too busy looking around the kitchen. Students had already in their apron and hairnet. Jonah in particular had the chef hat that Jamil used to wear during the cooking process since he's the head chef.

He was walking through the aisle and stopping near the grill. "Senior Yudhi, don't let the vegetables become too charred."

The pinknette nodded at him, nearly dropping his tongs. "A-Alright."

Meanwhile, at the oven, Mustafa pulled out a tray with a few cake pans on it. "The semolina cake is out from the oven!"

Jonah turned to the white-haired senior, giving him a quick nod. "Great. Cut them equally and pour the hot syrup on it."

Jamil, still baffled, could only turn to Floyd and asked, "Floyd... Is this Azul's idea as well?"

Floyd nodded at him. "Yep. Since Azul said he wanted to help you so badly~"

"That's..." Jamil cleared his throat. _Calm down. Calm down. Don't let your emotions blow up._ "I can't let a guest do work around the dorms."

Floyd crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting a bit. "But you let Baby Seal help you too. Aren't you being inconsistent, Sea Snake?"

"He volunteered." Jamil huffed, glancing at Jonah who didn't even realize the dirty glare Jamil had given to him. Jamil turned back to Floyd quickly before he could realize it. "Besides, Kalim's food is prepared personally by me even if the menu is the same because he’s worried about being poisoned..."

Floyd raised a disgusted eyebrow at him. "Da fuck? Even my diet is more balanced than that. What kind of idiot put poison in their own food?" he mumbled. "Besides, Little Piranha had tasted them all and he's still alive~"

He pointed with his thumb Grim, who was wearing a very tight plastic bodysuit/raincoat (probably so that his fur didn't fell on the food), flying from one isle to another. The students in charge of the aisle would give him a spoonful of the food they were making and Grim ate it, sometimes commenting to add more salt or just giving a thumbs up. The food later was brought to the closest aisle to the door where Floyd was in charge of the platting.

"I can't believe I become a scapegoat in this," Grim grumbled when he flew past Jonah.

Jonah giggled. "Don't worry. If you die, I'll avenge you."

Jamil was this close to exploding. He was tapping his foot, trying to control from the bubbling annoyance. "Yes. But we usually eat after the oasis march. We haven't prepared for that. What if Kalim suddenly-"

"There's no need to fret~!"

Jamil screamed, jumping out of the way, revealing Azul who stood by the kitchen door with a hand on his cane. "Azul!"

Azul put his other hand on his chest. "As Octavinelle's prefect, I had offered Kalim a proposal regarding the marches I've heard about," he said, taking a few steps forward to make his presence more visible for all the students there. "Instead of going for long-distance walks and doing aerobics... It is far more effective to do muscle training indoors. The dessert is very hot, so I was very concerned about heat stroke as well."

"You guys have a really big fountain right outside, y’know? It’s much more fun to just swim around~" Floyd added.

Azul nodded at the suggestion. "Indeed. Based on my experience, swimming burns fat faster than walking."

"In other words..." Yudhi mumbled, exchanging glances with Mustafa. He slowly pulled out a smile. "We don’t have to march every day again..."

"As if those three arriving here somehow stopped the prefect's mood swing wasn't enough," he laughed. "Isn't it great, Jamil?"

Jamil wanted to answer 'no, this is not good' but Azul had started talking again. "Moreover, having a late breakfast affects concentration and performance. Though, overeating is not allowed. This is why I had a special request for our head chef to make a plate with the perfect portion for each student."

"Correct. That way, we're also not throwing away too much leftover and staying on the initial budget." Jonah walked toward the Azul with a plate of their breakfast. "Chargrilled vegetable platter, chicken shawarma, spiced chickpea chopped salad, and a syrup-soaked semolina cake."

Azul put a hand on Jonah's shoulder. "Perfect, Chef Argentum~ I know I can count on you~"

"Good morning, everyone!" The cheerful voice of Kalim arrived. Their prefect entered the kitchen along with Jade and the first thing he saw was the long counter with the breakfast platter. "Oh! Looks like food’s all ready."

"Indeed," Jade said, inspecting the plate Jonah showed to Azul. "Floyd seems to be in a good mood as well. Whenever he’s in a bad mood, his platting wouldn't look like trash."

"Baby Seal! We're done with the platting!" Floyd called once he finished wiping the last plate from any crumbs.

Jonah nodded at him. "Alright." He clapped his hand, gaining everyone's attention. "Let's serve this feast!"

"Yes!"

Among all the happy students, Jamil was the only one who looked pissed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!  
> Xin nian kuai le! Gong xi fa chai!
> 
> Have this special update as my angpao!  
> Well, you can count this as Azul Therapy Arc part 2.  
> Octavinelle hijacking the Scarabia training is really a highlight of this arc.


	127. Resist Betterment! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything turning better.  
> Jamil: I don't like this.

"Slight exercise helps with concentration, too. However, do not exert yourself to the point where you’re exhausted." Azul walked around the courtyard, watching the students spared with each other. "Doing spars helps relieve some stress as well."

Among the students, Kalim was paired up with Jonah. Their fight turned out to be more of a physical match rather than magical combat. Jonah had his cutlass with both hands, running toward Kalim with a scream. Kalim quickly raised his staff as a shield and firmly blocked the sword. With solid strength, Kalim pushed the sword back as Jonah tried to kick him, water gathered underneath his feet and Kalim leaped with the help of his water-booster. With a wide grin, Kalim pounced down upon his opponent, his staff meeting with Jonah's raised sword but the force was greater than he expected, knocking the captain away.

"Yahoo!" Kalim cheered. "I win!"

"Good job, Senior Kalim," Jonah laughed, raising his thumb while still on the ground. Kalim pulled the arm, helping Jonah to get up again.

"You did well too!" he grinned. "But, maybe you should hold your sword with one hand instead." He lifted Jonah's arm that was still holding his cutlass. "It's pretty light, so it won't be that efficient if you hold with two hands."

Jonah hummed, nodding. "Yeah. I'm still looking for a good fighting style."

"Well, that's what training is for!" Kalim said, patting Jonah on the back.

Not far from Kalim, Jamil was huffing, glaring at the two boys, not noticing how Chandra sneaking up behind him with a sparking lightning ball in his palm.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he screamed, running toward Jamil who was his partner. "SNEAK ATTACK-"

Jamil just blasted him with his fireball.

* * *

"Do you know what is the most important for growing boys like us?" Without waiting for anyone answering, Azul snapped his fingers. "Yes! It is food. We must make sure that we have well-balanced nutrition. Overeating or not eating at all will affect our performance later on."

"Knowledge of food preparation and ingredients is very valuable, too," Jade added, bringing a basket filled with vegetables to the simmering chicken stock.

"Maybe I should try learning how to cook," Kalim mumbled, spinning a wooden spoon in his hand. "I don’t have to worry about poison if I made them myself, too."

"Oh, please." Jamil rolled his eyes, taking the spoon from Kalim's hand. "You’ll just get hurt again."

"Baby Otter can help with stirring the soup, then~" Floyd suddenly appeared between him, giving Kalim the soup spoon while swapping the spoon with a single tomato for Jamil.

"That's right," Jade said, walking next to Kalim with arms around his shoulders toward the giant pot on the stove. "Please watch over it closely so the soup does not boil over."

Kalim's eyes twinked and he nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Leave it to me!"

Jade chuckled and turned to the rest of the cooking team ."Come, everyone. Let us prepare some delicious food."

"Yes!"

Jamil was gritting his teeth. He crushed the tomato with his bare hand.

* * *

"Alright." Grim was sitting on top of Kalim's head who was walking around the lounge, flipping the book in his paws. "What is the incantation for the shield charm?"

"Uh..." Kalim tapped his chin, frowning a bit. He took several steps before he beamed, snapping his fingers. " _Protego_!"

"If one wished to increase the effect of the _bombarda_ spell, which incantation would you use?"

" _Bomb_... _Bombarda maxima_!"

"Which spell has the opposite effect of _lumos_?"

" _Nox_."

"What is the primary use of the charm _scourgify_?"

"Cleaning... I think?"

"Which spell is effective against dementors?"

"Oh, I know! _Expecto patronum_!"

"What is the counter-charm to _colloportus_?"

" _Alohomora_!"

"Wow!" Grim threw the book aside, grabbing Kalim's cheeks as he hung upside down. "A perfect score!"

Kalim laughed. "Yay! We did it!" He threw Grim to the air and caught him, spinning him around and hugging him close. He turned to Azul who just lowered his book. "Thanks, Azul! Your studying methods really help me."

"Anytime," he said. "Everyone has their own studying methods. We just need to find which one is perfect for you."

Kalim grinned and sat next to Azul while Grim flew back to Jonah "You’re so smart, Azul! It’s so amazing." He sighed. "Compare to me... I was trying so hard without knowing lotta things, and..." His smile slipped a little. "I think I may have been unreasonable with everyone. I still need to learn a lot as a prefect."

Azul hummed, nodding knowingly. "Everybody makes mistakes." He gave Kalim a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "There is still a lot of time. You can still make up for them."

Kalim's smiled returned. "Right." He nodded at Azul.

Among the group of students, Mustafa smiling at the two prefect before going to his group. "The nightmare training camp is finally ending, huh?" he sighed.

"Yeah," Chandra laughed, lifting the book from his face. "We can only spend time together like this while we’re in school anyway."

Ashoka lowered his pen. "Definitely," he said as he stretched his muscle from any tiredness. "I wouldn’t mind staying at school if the training was like this."

Jamil's pencil snapped.

Yudhi turned to him. "Jamil, are you okay?"

"Sorry," Jamil said in a low voice without looking up at him. "I'm having trouble with this question."

Azul looked at his wristwatch. "Oh, my. It is almost 3 PM," he said before turning to Kalim. "Let us study a bit more and then take a quick break."

"Shall I prepare some tea?" Jade asked.

"No, I’ll go get them ready." Azul stood up, wearing his fedora again. "I am mostly done with my homework, after all."

Jamil also stood up, almost too quickly. "I’ll help you."

Azul smiled at him. "That would be wonderful. Shall we?"

* * *

Jamil felt like punching an octopus and dunking it into the bath of boiling water. The prefect beside him was even more irritating than the Ramshackle Captain. At least Jonah didn't talk this much. Listening to Azul made his blood boil. _How dare he bragged about their progression since their arrival and how Kalim was in good mood so far! This was NOT what Jamil wanted! How dare he ruined his plan! He had gone this far there was no way he would let a bunch of seafood stop him._

"Azul."

The Octavinelle Prefect paused. "Pardon?"

Jamil sighed. He stepped forward, blocking Azul's path and causing him to stop in his track. Even though he was just a centimeter shorter than Azul, somehow it felt like Jamil was towering over the prefect. "Sorry. But I need you all to leave Scarabia and go back to where you came from."

Azul frowned. "Jamil, what is the matter? Did I do something bad...?"

Jamil rolled his eyes and massaged his eyes. "You still don’t get it? Even after seeing how sad I am?"

"Eh...?"

Jamil's fingers parted a bit, only revealing a bit of his eye. But it was enough to catch Azul's full attention. " ** _[The one reflected in your eyes is your master. If I ask, you shall answer me; if I command it, you shall bow to me... Snake Whisper...]_** "

Azul let out a gasp. His head was pounding so hard like someone hit his head with a mallet repeatedly. "What...?!" he gritted his teeth. His hands flew to grab his head but it didn't reduce the pain in the slightest.

"It'll only hurt the more you resist." Jamil grabbed the back of Azul's head, pulling his hair so that their eyes could stare at each other. Magic circles had already appeared in their iris but the silvernette was stubborn. "Give it up already. Obey."

The pounding inside of Azul's head was almost unbearable. His mouth opened but no scream came out. He was trembling all over, trying to resist the spell invading his brain.

But then, like a light switch, everything stopped. Azul's hands slipped from his head and his jaw hung open. His eyes were barely opened and the trembling stopped as well.

Jamil's lips pulled a smirk. "Azul Ashengrotto," he said, his hand finally let go of the silver hair. Without something supporting him, Azul's head hung low like a ragdoll's head. Jamil stepped back, examining the malfunctioning prefect. "Who is your master?"

"My..." Azul slurred. "Master is..."

Slowly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes, revealing a pair of shining red instead of the silver-blue. "You, Master Jamil." He slowly brought his hand to his chest, bowing slightly at the smirking vice prefect. "Your wish is my command."

Jamil laughed out loud. "I can't believe this!" _Was it really this easy to control one of the most dangerous prefect in the academy? He should've done this sooner. It would save him a lot of headaches._ "You underestimated my power, Mister Prefect." He let out a tired sigh. "I was this close to working the residents into a frenzy to chase Kalim out of his seat without dirtying my own hand. It was bad enough that blasted captain figured it out a bit too quickly, you just have to fly in and save your boyfriend, don't you?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment. "You've become soft, Azul."

He started to pace around. "No matter. I still have a chance. First, I’ll have you order the twins into going back to the Coral Sea-" He paused, a thought came into his mind. He turned to the hypnotized prefect. "Azul, you’ve returned the magic you stole from people using your contracts, right?"

"Yes..." Azul said in an almost sleepy tone.

Jamil clicked his tongue again. "Well, that's a waste." While Azul's _It's A Deal_ may be valuable, keeping him brainwash for an extended period of time would be difficult. "What can a genie like you do?"

"I can remember what was written in the contracts…"

Jamil's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

"All those who made deals with me, their secrets, worries, weaknesses, and desires... I remember them all."

Jamil barked out a laugh. "I was right not to be friends with you." He was about to throw another insult when another thought popped up in his mind. "Wait a minute... Among that distasteful collection of yours, do you have any secrets from Headmaster Crowley?"

"Yes."

The corner of Jamil's lips pulled up. "Is that so? Tell me one of them."

"It was a secret passed down from the first headmaster, Lelantos Oleander Astaire, until future headmaster, Vil Schoenheit, in form of a riddle," Azul started in the most monotone tone anyone could ever hear from the merchant prefect considering the importance of the secret. "The riddle said: _'Under the watchful eyes of the Great Seven shall holder of the key open the door to the reflection of the world'_."

Jamil laughed out loud in an almost hysteric way. "What the hell? How cryptic can that bird-man be?! Ha ha ha! Oh, this is glorious!"

_This was just a wonderful turn of events! With the almighty Azul Ashengrotto as his genie of the lamp and the headmaster secrets right on his fingertips to exploit..._

"I can finally be free..." He let out an almost dreamily sigh. The victory was just a few leaps ahead. "I can chase Kalim out of the school and become prefect myself!" He laughed. _Finally. Finally! Things are under his control once again-_

"Thank you for telling us everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy... We are getting close to overblotting.  
> I am not prepared for the emotional breakdown.  
> And we have some heavy lore plot point dump these last two chapters huh...  
> I'm supposed to post this tomorrow but I'll be rather busy that day, so, here's an early update.


	128. Plunder the Throne! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamil! You are so busted!  
> Also, someone is speaking in a different language here. Prepare a translator.

"Thank you for telling us everything."

Jamil gasped, eyes widened when a certain Octavinelle Eel walked, stopping a few steps behind with hands crossed in front of his chest and a disapproving look on his face. "You-?! When did you-!?"

"Since you and Azul left the dorm," Jade said, the disapproving looks changed into amusement as his lips rose to a smirk. "You should really pay attention to your surroundings."

He pointed up and Jamil followed his finger, once again gasping when he found Grim with this back pressed to the ceiling and a phone in his paws. Knowing that his job was done, the cat flew lower, still aiming the phone at Jamil's shocked face. "Cih! How dare you make a fool of us!?" Grim yelled. "I have enough of people tricking us! Now everybody can see your real face!"

Jamil took a step back. "What?! You recorded it?!"

"Not exactly," Jade said. "This is just a video call between Azul and Jonah's magicam account. We thought about broadcasting this, but Jonah was merciful enough to go against the plan. This was enough though. The residents are all gathered in the lounge, eyes glued to the video call to see your moment in the spotlight."

Not anymore because a group of footsteps could be heard running toward them. The students were clever enough to split into two groups, blocking both paths of the hallway to avoid any escape attempts from Jamil (unless if he wanted to try jumping off the fence).

"Jamil..." Yudhi's voice was soft as usual, but he didn't try to hide his disbelieve tone. "Please tell us it's not true..."

"You've... You've been deceiving us and the prefect all this time...!?" Chandra was just as shocked and disappointed as everyone else.

"We thought you could be trusted..." Ashoka curled his fists and gritted his teeth. "But it turned out you're a bitch in a sheep-clothing, huh?!"

"Th-that's... It's not... I..."

"Don't try to act innocent, Jamil! We've seen it all!" Mustafa yelled, his finger pointing at Jamil whose back hit the wall, finally cornered. "You lied to us all! You used your unique magic to brainwashed Kalim and caused the mood swings! Just like what you did to the Octavinelle Prefect!"

"He's correct." Jonah stepped forward, a transparent screen showing what Grim was recording on his right arm. He turned off the screen, along with Grim tossing the phone to Jade's hand, with a sigh. "You're busted, Jamil Viper. The mastermind behind this chaotic training camp..." He pointed his finger at Jamil, declaring, "Is YOU!"

...

...

...

A sigh escaped the Scarabia Vice Prefect's lips. "Can't believe this..."

"What?" Mustafa frowned.

Jamil ran his hand down his face, his voice sounded tired. "Everything was going according to plan, and yet somehow it backfired."

"You're not defending yourself?" Ashoka shouted. "Are you admitting your crime?!"

"I didn't intend for things to go this far... But there's no going back now." He stepped forward, glancing toward the hypnotized Octavinelle Prefect. "Azul, to order you to throw them all out this instant!"

"As you wish, Master." Azul stepped forward, taking out his magical pen which turned into his cane in a flick of the wrist.

Everyone stood on guard. Grim flew to Jonah's shoulder who reached for his cutlass. "Stay back, you seafood!" the cat hissed, flame sparking from between his teeth.

"Azul!" Azul pointed his glowing cane at Jade who raised both hands in surrender. "You mustn't! Please return to your senses."

"Calling out to him won't make a difference!" Jamil smirked.

"Yes." Azul stepped closer to Jade who stepped back. The gem of the cane touched Jade's neck. "I am Master Jamil's faithful servant..."

A flicker of red happened.

Azul sighed, tilted back his neck to look at Jamil, blue eyes gleaming mischievously. "Bitch. As if that'll fucking happen."

"What!?"

Jade chuckled as Azul lower his cane. "Jamil, I am afraid that karma will have its due," he said, turning toward Jamil with his usual smirk. "It seemed like, in the end, you're the one who underestimated my power."

Jamil was trembling with shock as he took a step back. "How the fuck-!" he choked. "You looked at straight into my eyes-"

Azul chuckled. "I am simply a very cautious magician who has a counter-measure for everything that comes my way." He glanced to the crowd behind Jade. "Right, Floyd?"

A familiar chuckle was heard and Floyd popped out from the crowd, an elbow resting on Jade's shoulder and his other hand on his hips. "Makanya, jangan cepat lengah,[1]" he giggled. "Dasar Ular Laut bodoh~[2]"

"Excuse me?" Grim asked in surprise. He and Jonah exchange glances. They weren't the only two who were confused with the sudden change in the other eel twins' speech. "What are you talking about?"

Floyd grinned at him. "Kemarin malam aku membuat kontrak dengan Azul, bukan? Sekarang aku bisa bahasa dewa![3]" He looked so proud, stetching his arms wide like a happy child. "Sebagai gantinya, aku pinjamkan _unique magic_ -ku ke Azul![4]"

"Which is something I still can't believe you agree to," Jade said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and stared at Floyd like a disappointed mother.

Jonah and Grim stared at him like he just grew a second head. Does _Jade understand him? Is this the power of a twins' mutual understanding or are they just bilingual?_ Jade sighed and started explaining. "In exchange for his unique magic, Azul gave him the skill to speak in another language fluently. A tempting offer, but I will never in my right mind make a contract with Azul for a trivial thing like that."

"Ah... Jangan kesal banget, Jade~[5]" Floyd said, patting his brother on the back. "Aku nggak masalah kalau hidup tanpa sihirku. Aku bisa membuat kontrak lagi kalau aku bosan bicara Bahasa Common Tounge.[6]" He ended with a giggle which caused Jade to glare at him again.

"I still have no idea what you guys are talking about," Grim grumbled to which Jonah just patted his head. It wasn't like he understand either, but kept his cool.

"Floyd's _unique magic_ , _Bind the Heart_ , enables the user to jam an opponent's magic and redirect it to somewhere else. Thus, using it, I can redirect Jamil's _unique magic_. And then, all I had to do was pretend to be controlled so Jamil would let his guard down and reveal his plans. Simple as that," Azul spoke up, pushing his glasses up his nose. "This also considering the fact that the only person I can imagine being strong enough to affect the efficacy of Jade's _unique magic_ on Kalim is Jamil."

Jonah chuckled. "Cunning aren't they?" He stepped forward, eyes still on the glaring Jamil. The two prefects exchanged a glance and a smirk before focusing back on the cornered vice. "And mind you, I didn't tell them anything. They planned everything all on their own."

"Ja... Mil..."

Everything came to a halt. The sound of Kalim's footsteps seemed to be the loudest noise in the universe. Students parted, giving a pathway for their prefect. Kalim... Didn't look so good. He was pale, eyes slightly widened in disbelieve. "What is... Going on here?" he asked through his trembling lips.

"K-Kalim..." Jamil breathed out.

Of course, Kalim had heard everything. He was there when Grim recorded the scene and watched it through Jonah's screen. _But still..._

"They're lying right...?" he whispered, lips trying to curl into a smile. "You'd never try to control me..."

_There was just no way. That... That doesn’t sound like Jamil at all. Jamil is the one who would scold him when he’s dozing off. That must be it. He had been spacing out and losing track of time lately, but... That’s like anemia, right?_

"Please... I've just been dozing off, right...?" Kalim gripped his chest, tears started to stream out his eyes, making his cheeks wet. "You wouldn’t do something like controlling me or chase me out, right...?" He tried to laugh. He wanted to laugh. _This must’ve been a prank. Because..._

"Jamil, you're the only one... You're the only one who'd never betray me, right? Because we're... We're best friends, aren't we?!"

Jamil just stared at him with an expression that Kalim could understand. _Please, Jamil. Please, answer. Say something! Tell him that he’s correct. Tell him that the Jamil he had known, the Jamil who he had fallen for will never even think to betray him._

_Right...?_

...

"Ha ha..."

_Huh...?_

"Hahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!" Jamil had his hand on his eyes, mouth wide as a hysteric laugh came out.

"H-Hey..." Kalim stepped backward in surprise. _Why... Why is he laughing? What is so funny?_

"That’s exactly what I’m talking about..." Jamil sighed, hand ran down his face until it rested to cover his mouth and nose. "Ever since I can remember, that carefree, positive, and foolish attitude of yours..."

He took a deep breath before shouting, "I’VE HATED IT!"

Kalim jumped back, nearly tripping if it weren't for Azul grabbing his shoulders. But Jamil didn't stop. Couldn't stop. He had to get these off his chest. "You flit about without a care for the crap you put me through! I’ve always hated seeing your smile. I’M SO SICK OF IT!"

He stepped forward and Kalim wanted to step back, but Azul held him. Jonah stepped in front of them, fingers curling around the handle of his cutlass.

"I won’t sugarcoat anything anymore," Jamil growled, fingers reaching for his magical pen on his belt. "I’ve wished, every single day, for you to just disappear."

Kalim gasped, on the verge of crying. "I... No... I didn't..."

Jonah gritted his teeth. "You..." He pulled out his cutlass, the tip of it nearly touching Jamil's nose if it weren't for Kalim's surprised scream stopping him. "Don't you have any feeling? How dare you speak like that!"

"As if someone as stupid as him will understand!" Jamil screamed. "He needs to learn..." His gem began to glow. "For everything he had put me through... I'LL PUT AN END TO ALL TODAY!" A giant magic circle appeared blazing underneath him, his clothes fluttering from the harsh golden wind.

"Jamil, wait!"

" ** _[The one reflected in your eyes is your master. If I ask, you shall answer me; if I command it, you shall bow to me! Snake Whisper!]_** " Jamil screamed, raising his pen to the air. Sonic waves shot out from it, hitting nearly everyone. Grunts and moans came from the most Scarabia students as one by one reached for their head when a terrible headache hit them.

"Th-this can’t be...!" Azul gasped out, pulling Kalim behind him. "He cast his magic on everyone!?"

"Throw Kalim and the Octavinelle bastards out!" Jamil order, sending out more waves toward the students. The groaning and moaning slowly died down and everyone rose, arms and head limped like dolls.

"Yes, Master..."

Azul held his cane with his two hands, eyeing Jade and Floyd who both took out their pen. _This is bad. He didn't think that Jamil is able to control all of them at once. He’s not ordinary at all... He can be the best magician in Scarabia. Maybe top students in the whole school! This will difficult in fighting all of these students and they can't hope for Grim's reinforcements to arrive in time-_

"AZUL!"

Kalim's screamed snapped Azul from his thought, just in time to duck when a sword suddenly swung, nearly cutting his neck. Azul looked at the holder who had his bangs covering his eyes. "Jonah?!" The only response Jonah gave was raising his chin, but it was enough for Azul to see the shining red eye. The same eye he saw back when he first arrived in Scarabia.

The captain didn't stop his attacks, swinging his cutlass like he was trying to chop Azul off his tentacles. Jade, Floyd, and Grim were the same. They tried their best to defend against the brainwashed Scarabia residents who kept coming back like zombies.

Kalim stood in the middle of it, unable to move. His head and heart were filled with confusion and dread. _Why is Jamil doing this? Had he... Had he been wrong all this time? Is this the real Jamil? But... It can't be. Jami would never hurt him. Jamil would never want him dead._

"No... This is not..." Kalim teared up. "Jamil! Please stop! You can be the prefect! I'll go home! Please-!"

"Idiot," Jamil growled. "The chain that binds me can't be released just like that... But I'm done playing the submissive servant!" He gripped his pen tighter, black ink could be seen splattered on the gem.

"I WILL BE FREE!"

With his final scream, the gem exploded and ink came out, flowing like a whirlpool with him at the center. Kalim took out his pen and changed it into his staff quickly, stabbing it to the floor to hold his ground. Between the storm of ink and the scream of students fighting, Kalim could make out Jamil started to change into something that Kalim would've never imagine Jamil would turn into.

"No... Jamil..."

But the vice prefect, his best friend, the one who once stole his heart, laughed at him.

**_"I’Ll sHoW YoU HoW It’s dOnE... iT’S TiMe tO SaY GoOd-bYe!"_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things happened...
> 
> And we have bilingual Floyd.  
> He's speaking in Indonesian, so here's some translation:  
> [1] Makanya, jangan cepat lengah, = That's why you don't lower your guard too fast,  
> [2] Dasar Ular Laut bodoh~ = You stupid Sea Snake~  
> [3] Kemarin malam aku membuat kontrak dengan Azul, bukan? Sekarang aku bisa bahasa dewa! = I made a contract with Azul last night, didn't I? Now I speak the language of the gods!  
> [4] Sebagai gantinya, aku pinjamkan unique magic-ku ke Azul! = In exchange, I lent my unique magic to Azul!  
> [5] Ah... Jangan kesal banget, Jade~ = Ah... Don't be so pissed off, Jade~  
> [6] Aku nggak masalah kalau hidup tanpa sihirku. Aku bisa membuat kontrak lagi kalau aku bosan bicara Bahasa Common Tounge. = I don't mind living without my magic. I can make another contract if I'm bored in speaking in Common Tounge language.


	129. Cold Opinion! (The Tactician of the Scorching Sands Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DOKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAN  
> NICE SHOT!!!!!!

It was chaotic. Everything was red and black, lightning-sparked in every direction. Students were screaming in pain from attacking each other.

Among the battle, Grim could be seen flying, blowing a harsh fire from his mouth. Most students were able to avoid him, but some had their clothes on fire or some burnt marks. Both Jade and Floyd shot their water and lightning toward the hypnotized students, holding back as much as they could to avoid any permanent injuries.

Floyd was impatient. He charged toward another student near him, magical pen already sparking like a taser gun. The student got hit and crumpled to the ground. Another student dashed toward him, shooting his magic from his pen and sharp jagged ice sprouted up from the ground around Floyd who was unable to run away. He let out a scream, feeling the ice scratched his clothes and skin until it bled.

Jade turned to him when he screamed, eyes widened in shock from the fact his twin got hurt. Even between the pain, Floyd could see a student jumped toward Jade. “Jade, awas![1]”

Maybe it was anger, but Jade turned toward the jumping student, eyes flashing dangerously, and he held pen with his two hands, summoning little magic circles in front of him. From the circles, Jade shot out big powerful bubbles at the students, shooting them like they were bullets. The students screamed from the rain of bullets on the chest and got thrown to the pillar, rendering him unconscious.

Jade, still breathing hard from anger, turned to Floyd, kicking the ices with his bare leg. “Are you alright?” Jade asked. Floyd grinned at him and nod. Anger seemed to reduce from him because he could smile. Reaching for Floyd’s hand, both twins once again sprung into battle.

Meanwhile, a hypnotized Jonah dashed toward Azul who could only defend himself, cutlass and cane clashed with one another. Azul himself was surprised that no one tried to interfere with them. Whether this was Jamil’s plan or not, Azul was slightly grateful for the lack of distraction. Jonah swung his sword every which way in a smooth choreographed motion that was so unlikely from him, and with each motion, Azul jumped backward, dodging each of his attacks. A particular attack had scraped the surface on the tip of his nose. 

Jonah charged toward him and Azul couldn’t take it anymore. He slammed his cane to the ground, summoning a giant bubble surrounding him. It jiggled when Jonah’s sword hit it and the captain was thrown back with a surprised scream, his head his the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Kalim stood in the middle of this, never felt so useless. Both of his hands on his staff, trembling in fear of the chaos. _Everyone was busy protecting him… And yet, he didn’t do anything… Was Jamil right? Was he really a nuisance like he had said?_

“Jamil…” A sob escaped the prefect’s lips. “Please… Stop this…”

The person in question was nearly unrecognizable for Kalim. If he could joke around, Jamil looked like an old man. Ink decorated his face on his forehead, under his eyes, and a mock goatee. His left eye burning with orange flame. Chunks of his hair turned into hissing snakes with glowing red eyes. He wore a black headdress with a yellow pattern, a red gem in the center, a red feather sticking out above it, and long red tattered cloth hung like a drape. He wore a red and black garment with loose cloths as sleeves, showing his shoulder and upper arms, ink tainted his arm and down his hands like gloves, along with the curved on his shoulders. The end of his garment was tattered, showing his black ink shoes with a curl at the tips and red gems along his legs. Gold jewelry decorated him, around his wrist, his elbows that connected to his torso and chest, and his hips and around his thighs.

On the ground, Jonah blinked as he woke up, eye returned to its usual black colored, quite surprised himself of how fast he could do that. A foot set itself in front of his face. Jamil was laughing, eyes filled with insanity, watching the Octavinelle Trio, Grim, and Kalim like a cat playing with its mice.

**_“EnOuGh! I HaVe nO UsE Of iNcOmPeTeNt kInG AnD TrIcKeRs aNyMoRe!”_ **

Opening his palm, black magic started to gather, at the same time black sparkle started to appear all over the gang. They felt their body was being pulled back, floating a few feet above the floor as they brought close together, feeling as if they were tied by an invisible rope.

Jonah's eye widened. “NO!” He scampered to get up but one of Jamil’s snake hair managed to get a hold of him, slithering around his upper arms and chest. “Jamil! Don’t do this!”

But Jamil ignored him. The magic gathered in his hand formed a black flame as Jamil curled his wrist slightly back towards his body as if he was about to throw a frisbee.

**_“To tHe eNdS Of tHe eArTh wItH YoU! aNd nEvEr rEtUrN!”_ **

Kalim's eyes widened. “JAMIL! NO-”

**_“wHoOpEe!”_ **

Jamil threw his arm forward, blasting the dark flame bellow the gang. Like a rocket, the four students and the cat were sent off flying away, their screams filled the air which only fueled Jamil's maniacal laugh.

**_“So lOnG! eX-PrEfEcT, kAlIm!”_ **

Jonah's body slacked, devastated. The snake hair slithered off, leaving the boy to fell to his knees, head bowed and eye wide. He was trembling all over, still in shock at what just happened in the past minutes. A vague memory of Azul in panic as he pointed his sword resurfaced. _Did… Did he really do that? Did he attack him? Even though… Even after that night…_

“What have I done?” His voice was barely above a whisper. Jamil just chuckled. He rested a hand on top of the boy's head, earning a flinch from him.

**_“YoU'Ve dOnE A WoNdErFuL JoB...”_ **

Jonah squeezed his eyes shut as he gritted his teeth. He curled his fingers hard until his nails piercing his palm. _It hurt. This is real. Like it or not, he was unable to get out from Viper's clutches. He couldn't do anything. He was completely alone. He had lost._

_This is the end._

* * *

They didn't know how long they had been flying, but eventually, gravity started to pull them back. Azul's eyes widened when they started falling, the air smacking their face as the screams became louder. Passing through the cloud, Azul could see the ground. Instinct took over him once again, and he gripped his cane as hard as he could. “ ** _[ARRESTO MOMENTUM]_**!”

They were only a few inches from the ground when the spell finally took over, stopping them in midair. All of them were breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush. Glancing to the side, once he was sure that everyone was still conscious, Azul pulled his magic back. All of them collectively fell to the ground.

Kalim got up slowly with his trembling elbows. “We…” he coughed. “We barely survived…”

Grim groaned, turning to lay down on his back. “How many times do I have to go through this…?”

Floyd sat up, shivering as he hugged himself and rubbed his upper arms. “Dingin sekali, sih...! Seperti ada di bawah es saja![2]”

Jade stood up, looking around the dark dune. “It seemed we’ve been thrown quite some distance away.” He looked up to the dark cloudy sky. “If I might’ve guessed, we’re at the ends of Scarabia’s desert.”

“We can’t stay here too long,” Azul stood up next to Jade, fixing his glasses. “Grim has some thick fur, and we are used to the cold to an extent, but it’ll probably be dangerous for Kalim.” Not to mention the mere thought of him being thrown to the end of the earth made him so angry. This was exactly what Jonah said not to do. _Dammit… He might have a point about the tales being retold in real-life…_

A sniffle caught their attention. “But why…”

Kalim picked himself up. He was on his knees, hands on the ground with his head bowed. “Why would Jamil…” His hands curled up, forming marks on the sand. “I… I trusted him.”

Jade noticed the way Azul turned his head, already guessing that he didn’t take the captain’s situation as well. Glancing back, he saw Grim walked toward the crying Scarabia Prefect. “This is my fault!” he sobbed. “I’ve shut Jamil out without even thinking. Jamil will never do anything like that! He’s always saving me, and he’s such a reliable person, and…”

Grim patted Kalim on the knee before rubbing his cheek on it. “Hey. It’s okay.”

“It’s not!” He tried his best to wipe out all the tears, but they kept flowing down. “If only I realized it sooner… If only I wasn’t such a burden… If only I’m a better friend for him…”

“Good people don’t just throw their friends to the ends of the desert,” Azul muttered.

Kalim looked up at him. “Eh?”

“Jamil’s grudge grew over the year. He probably waiting for the right moment to strike.” Azul clutched his cane harder. “He tried to blame you for everything. He’s the worst.”

Grim rolled his eyes. “Like you’re no different.”

Floyd’s eye twitched. “Oi, dengar ya...[3]”

“Shut up! I’m saying this now!” Grim to the center of the group, ears up and tail thumping in the air. “You have no right to say anything as if you’re blameless here! What you did back then to us… To Jonah… You’re horrible!”

Azul turned around, glaring at the cat. _Does he really need to discuss THAT now?_ “Need I remind you that you three are the ones who sign that contract?” he said in a low tone. “Or that Jonah ruined the whole thing in the beginning?”

“You cursed him!” Grim screamed. “You tried to kill us! You created a war!” He flew in front of Azul's face who kept his glare. “Do you realize the stress he had?! He called himself useless because he can’t end everything early! He has too many panic attacks and still afraid that he might drown!”

Azul didn’t say anything. He was unable to. He could only stare and listen to the ranting cat, knowing that the cat was right. “You’re not the only one hurt from this, y’know!” The cat poked his chest and Azul didn’t even try to fight back. “Jonah is too kind to blame you, but I’m not. I admit that I was dumb, but I’ll never forgive you for nearly killing my friend multiple times!”

“Oi!” Floyd screamed, pushing Grim’s head away from Azul. His twin always walked up to his boss, standing slightly in front of him. “Kamu mau dihajarnya, dasar kucing?![4]” The eel-boy cracked his knuckles, glaring dangerously at the hissing cat.

A hand was placed on Floyd’s shoulder. “Floyd. It’s alright.”

Floyd turned to his boss. “Tapi, Azul-[5]”

Azul lightly pulled Floyd back and stepped forward. Grim folded his paws in front of his chest and turned his head to the side. Azul sighed. “You’re right,” he said. Grim’s ears twitched. “What I did back then was something unforgivable. And I understand if you won’t forgive me. And I know doing this won’t redeem myself, but I want to save him.”

_“But, listen here, dear Azul Ashengrotto.” He brushed some strands of hair from Azul's in a gentle manner. “You got the makings of greatness in you. I've seen it. I know you can sail through the rough sea. I wish I can see more from you, catching some of the light coming off you.”_

_The smile never left his face and Azul just couldn’t believe it._ How could he say all of this, without any hint of mockery? _“Why are you doing this?” Azul whispered, eyes once again teared up. “Is it because of pity?”_

_Jonah shook his head. “No. Because I know you are more than this. This is just a hiccup in a way. You can fix this. Everyone deserves a second chance after all.”_

_“How can you be sure that I won’t repeat the same mistake?”_

_“Then I’ll give you the third chance. If you still haven’t changed, I’ll give the fourth. Over and over again.”_

_Azul sighed. “That’s ridiculous.”_

_Jonah chuckled lightly. “Well, I’m not like other villains after all.”_

“Both Jonah and Jamil are still in Scarabia and in grave danger.” Azul curled his fingers into a tight, trembling fist. “We have to go back before it’s too late for all of us.”

Grim was silent but Azul knew he didn’t have room for argument, not with their dear friends currently in terrible peril. Two of them are. “Azul…” Kalim stepped forward, clenching his chest. “I… You’re right. I… I need to go back. For Jamil. I need to say sorry. It may not be enough and he probably won’t forgive me, but I want to save him.” The prefect’s red eyes were shining with a determination unlike what all of them had seen before. “I’ll save him from his overblot with my own two hands!”

“Tapi, bagaimana caranya?[6]” Floyd asked once again. “Kita bisa mati kedinginan walaupun kita cepat lari pulangnya.[7]”

Jade looked around, shoes kicking the dirt underneath them. “We could easily swim quickly if there was a river, but… All bodies of water here are dried up.”

Kalim looked up at him. “River? Do you need some water?”

Jade nodded, looking at the vast space of cold dark dunes. “Yes, if Floyd and I revert to our true forms, we can take us back faster than a broom can. However, it is impossible to revive a dried-up river…”

“I can do that.”

The three Octavinelle Students turned toward him in shock. “What?!/Apa?![8]”

“My _unique magic_ , _Oasis Maker_ , can make me summon a lot of water with little effort!” Kalim opened his palm summoning a small magic circle, but the water coming out of it sprayed out like a fountain. “We can go back to the dorm if I make a river, right?”

“A _unique magic_ like that-” _Wh-what is that_ unique magic _!? That is beyond wonderful! That magic would be a godsend to countries that don’t have safe drinking water! Something like that would be like… Striking a gold mine!_

He felt a slap behind his head. Glaring at the culprit, which was Jade who raised an eyebrow at him. Azul sighed. _Right. Stay calm. This is no time for capitalism._ He nodded at Kalim. “Do it, Kalim.”

“I just have to make a river, right?” Kalim grinned, taking out his magical pen. “Got it, leave it to me!” And then he started to move in similar to dancing, orange magic glittered behind the pen movement like a ribbon. In his last spin, Kalim raised the pen into the air, which glowed and changed into his staff, along with a giant magic circle above his head. He spun the staff a few times before screaming, “ ** _[Unwind on the hot sands. An endless party. Sing, dance]_**! **_[OASIS MAKER]_**!”

He slammed the staff to the ground and a light beam shot out from the staff, hitting the magic circle above before heavy rain came pouring down from it. It was so heavy that in a matter of minutes, the water had reached their knees.

“Amazing…” Grim looked around from his position perched onto Kalim’s shoulder. “The water’s slowly turning into a river.”

Kalim smiled, feeling like he had done a good job. With a flick of the staff, the rain turned slower, but still going on.

By this point, the water had reached Kalim’s neck (who was the shortest between the gang). Jade and Floyd exchanged a glance before nodding at each other. They dove in and took out their magical pen, waving it as they swam around each other. Spiraling green light started to cover their legs from the tip of their toes like being sucked into a tornado. It soon swallowed them whole and shone one last time before it disappeared, revealing the twins in their mer-eel form.

They swam upward, breaking the surface of the water. “Azul, grab onto Floyd,” Jade said. “Kalim, Grim, grab onto me.”

Azul and Kalim nodded and swam toward their respective eel. Azul picked to straddle Floyd’s back with hands gripping the eels shoulders, while Kalim laid down on Jade’s back, arms around his neck with Grim holding tight onto his coat.

“Pengangan yang erat, ya~[9]” Floyd chimed. With that signal, the two eels swam as fast as they could. With Kalim who was still making it rain and Azul controlling the current in their favor, they soon would arrive in Scarabia in no time.

_Jamil… Jonah… Just hold on a bit longer…_

_We will rescue you!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Raise your hand for those who had been waiting for this chapter? Forgive me if I made it angstier than it supposed to be.
> 
> This means the overblot chapter is next, huh? I don't know if I will finish the battle today and post it tomorrow because this might be a long ass battle and I need more time for reference research. So, be patient, 'kay?
> 
> So, more Indonesian Floyd translation:  
> [1] Jade, awas! = Jade, look out!  
> [2] Dingin sekali, sih...! Seperti ada di bawah es saja! = It's really cold...! It’s like we're under the ice!  
> [3] Oi, dengar ya... = Oi, listen here...  
> [4] Kamu mau dihajarnya, dasar kucing?! = Do you want to get beaten up, you feline?!  
> [5] But, Azul-  
> [6] Tapi, bagaimana caranya? = But how are we going to do that exactly?  
> [7] Kita bisa mati kedinginan walaupun kita cepat lari pulangnya. = We're going to freeze to death even if we speedrun all the way back.  
> [8] Apa?! = What?!  
> [9] Pengangan yang erat, ya~ = Hold on tight, okay~

**Author's Note:**

> Starting from Chapter 16, I will be posting my notes on my Tumblr. Check it out here!  
> [@tsukikoayanosuke](https://tsukikoayanosuke.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Also, special mentions for these people who work hard to make fan translation of this game. They really help me since I can't read Japanese. Check them up!  
> 1\. [AmiYoshiko](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYjd1m_n0ckWm5zJpIpwwR3DBEGCKE2CZ)  
> 2\. [Shel_BB](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLagN_G2VW8b9wAZs8c5ItREjuvGo3o8dM)  
> 3\. [kanadesmusings](https://kanadesmusingsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/twisted-wonderland-main-story-masterpost/)  
> 4\. [Kibadreams](https://kibadreams.tumblr.com/tl-masterlist)  
> 5\. [Twst Archives](https://twstarchives.tumblr.com/post/620427662003994624/navigation-schedule)  
> 6\. Team Avalon: [Prologue](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtti6jyW9fs7Nf2nhuOgH1Z__m5PIcVw-); [Episode 1](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtti6jyW9fs7XPT-8q46dhpGizyI__qLi); [Episode 2](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtti6jyW9fs7lXu93zahiR83x5oy6SlHE)
> 
> Another special mention! I usually listen to these songs when I'm writing. Some songs fit so much with these boys! Check them up!  
> ['Twisted Wonderland Characters Song' by Proud Hufflepuff](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLigimupw2nr4V8MUQOUPBU4SbBJljDSU0)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Chapter 1. Off With the Crimson Ruler!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27058933) by [YukimiSou25](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukimiSou25/pseuds/YukimiSou25)




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